Mass Anomalies
by Jamezy
Summary: I try to live a normal life. I have simple pleasures, I love playing video games and reading fanfics based on those games. So you can imagine my excitement when I am sucked into the Mass Effect universe, but of course it's short lived. Now I am stuck in a bad position with some new "friends" I can't seem to get rid of. Now I have to prepare for the coming war. Rated T for Language.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey… How's it going?... Not much to say really. I'm pretty excited about this story, I had this idea for it and just got really amped up about it. I tried to do something that nobody else has really done with their characters. I'd like to thank iNf3ctioNZ, Herr Wozzeck, DelVarO, TheRev28, and claihm solais for their novels: Masses to Masses series, Mass Vexations series, Massed Up series, Welcome to The Family, and Cause and Mass Effect (respectively). If you haven't read any of those and you have a thirst for great SI's, go read them! Like right now! (Insert Arnold Schwarzenegger impression) DOO IT! DOO IT NAOW! And if I have missed any other SI's that are out there that I haven't mentioned let me know in the comments or PM me because I'm almost done the first Welcome to The Family and am about to start the second so I need more reading material. Wow, do you guys remember when I said not much to say? Oh well. On with the show!**

**Chapter 1**  
-You're A Fucking Asshole-

Uhhhh, my head. Never ever do shots kids, they are nothing but pain and misery. Not at the time mind you but hey, you're old enough to make your own decisions right? I start my morning ritual by promptly rolling of my bed and gracefully slamming onto my bedroom floor.

"_Shit._" I mutter at the pain that jolts me awake. Of course I forgot about all of the stuff next to my bed, which has proceeded to jab me in the stomach. With a labored sigh I push myself off the ground and stand up in my groggy hung over state and start my zombie like shuffle towards the stairs…

_The stairs._

Shit.

I peel open my eyes all the way to look down the flight of stairs. The long... Steep… Hardwood… Stairs of death… I should stop drinking…

Nah.

Well I'm sure as shit not going to walk down these so I'm forced to sit on my ass and slide down the stairs like a fucking five year old. Once I reach the bottom I look over to see my dog staring at me, a look of wonder and shame on his face.

"What?" I ask him. "If I died on those stairs no one would be able to feed you Brody. I technically just saved your life." I swear that dog narrows his eyes at me, giving me the _Yeah? Gee I'm SOO grateful_ look. "Don't give me that look." This little shit actually sighs! He sighed! At me! The hand that feeds! "Corey made me drink! I didn't want to do shots! I was perfectly happy to drink my scotch and shoot some pool but this asshole I call a friend came over and…and… why am I explaining myself to you?" Brody cocks his head at me with a look of confusion. Probably because I'm having a legitimate conversation with a dog. I give the Short-Haired Shepard a pat on the head and stumble my way into the kitchen.

Coffee would be great right now. I look over at my coffee maker and pray that my drunk self is a cool dude and prepped coffee for my hung over self. I wearily point my finger at the power button and inch forwards, I close my eyes and tilt my head as I push the button.

…

It's on.

…

It's making noises.

…

YES! The sweet sweet sound of coffee hitting glass fills my ears! Oh man drunk me is so nice. I open my eyes as I feel a paw hit my knee. Oh yeah. You probably want food right Brody?

"Come on Brody." I say as I pat my hand on my lap and walk over to his food bowl. He happily follows me to and from the laundry room as I fill his bowl.

* * *

I sit on my deck overlooking the lush forest behind my house. The orange rays of sunshine bursting through the overcast sky and catching in the lurking fog. The green leaves of the trees dancing in the breeze while the birds sing their songs as they soar among the branches. The shadow of a deer smears along the fog and disappears for a moment until the stag brandishes itself on a small hill overlooking his domain.

"Wow." I whisper as I take a sip of my coffee.

"This is good coffee." I murmur as I stare into my diminishing stock of the sweet black nectar. I hear Brody groan as he lies by my feet. I crack a smile at his reaction. "I'm just messing with you. Hey." I say, getting the dogs attention. "You want to go see if we can't find that deer?" There we go, the little mutt finally picks up his head with some enthusiasm. "Hunt!?" I whisper-shout as I stamp my feet. I can't help but smile as he jumps up and places his paws on my chest, no easy feat mind you. I've been told being 6'5" is pretty tall, but then again Brody is an above average sized dog. "Come on, let's suit up."

I make my way back into the house and back up to my room, Brody prancing his way behind me. I throw on my old dark brown bomber jacket and not those shitty new fancy ones. Like an old military style, almostblack-brown, more inner-pockets then outer-pockets, and lots of wrinkles. Reeeal vintage shit. I quickly toss on my black combat pants that I use more for paintball then hunting. I slip on my black floppy hipster hat and spend a few minutes making sure just enough of my blond messy bedhead hair is poking out. Yes I know nobody is going to see me but I'm 20 years old and single so the desperate part of my brain tells me there will be a beautiful girl in the woods that needs saving, so I try not to look like a slob at all times.

I look over and see my trusty original Xbox 360 sitting in front of my lovely 39" flat screen TV. Yeah, I know. 39" is a weird size but hey it was only $300. Not bad for 1080p eh? Gotta love black Friday, or whatever it's called up here in Canada. I think it's still black Friday, which seems kinda lazy, but who am I to call someone lazy? Aww man Mass Effect 3 is already loaded up in that bad boy, I should probably stop using my N7 Demolisher class and level up something else but I can't get over that sweet damage buff from the Pylon. That with the Particle Rifle, overcharge mode of course, or the N7 Crusader? Heh, get shit on Cerberus! Nah that can wait, as much as I love that series it is a beautiful day out.

Anyway, after I get dressed and lace my boots I head out to the barn to grab my gear, Brody in tow. On my way I pass the fire pit and casually reach in and scrape my hand on a soot covered log, then used said hand to smear soot from the top left of my face to the right of my neck. Boom! Instant camo face! And I didn't have to spend five bucks of face paint either. Take notes people, you might just learn something. God the door to the barn sure is loud; I should really do something about that.

After I make my way through the tangle of Jeep and ATV parts and open up one of the cabinets. Ah there she is. My trust compound bow. This baby has racked me up quite the kill count, 42 hay targets, 17 trees, and a rabbit. To people who don't hunt, that is really impressive and you should be in awe of my talent. To people who _do_ hunt…

Keep quiet.

I also grab my kukri knife. Not your typical hunting knife but fuck if it's not the coolest piece of metal I've ever seen. So I strap that bad boy to my hip and look to Brody, who is patiently waiting for me to get ready. All I have to do is flick my head and he is up and by my side. After the screeching metal door closing on the barn I look out at the woods again.

I let out a sigh. "Not a chance in hell I'm finding that deer."

* * *

You know its surprisingly peaceful creeping through the woods trying to kill something. No seriously. Just you, alone in nature. The sun poking through the trees, the fog rising from frog filled puddles. The subtle sounds of the animals running around _just_ outside of my field of vision. Mocking me.

Little pricks.

I've heard every noise known to critter but haven't seen a damn one. Brody keeps looking around at the noises too but I've trained him better then to just run after anything that moves, and that took a while believe me. Still, just sitting here isn't doing much and I haven't seen any tracks yet. I reach over and give Brody a quick pet and begin to skulk forward once again, keeping one eye on the ground searching for tracks and the other glassing the field for movement.

Well well well. Guess who found some deer tracks.

"Look at that Brody." I whisper to the dog. "Today might be our lucky day." I point to the tracks and Brody takes a big whiff of the scent. He goes into badass dog mode and begins to do that hunched over prowl thing. You know what I mean? When an animal stalks something ya'know? Anyway I start to follow him, nocking an arrow in my bow. This is the closest I've ever come to successfully tracking something bigger than a rabbit. It pretty exciting actually, my heart beat starts to quicken, my palms start to sweat, and my eyes start to dart around nervously.

_*snap*_

Damn it, fucking twigs. Now Brody is looking at me like I'm a fucking idiot. I shoot the dog the finger and start to move again. That deer is close, I can tell because Brody gets lower and lower as he closes the gap on his prey. That dog is great; I've had him for about two years now. I actually got him right before my Dad passed away. It was uhh… a difficult time in my life and I'm not really sure if I would have gotten over it as easily. But this dog was here and helped me get back on my feet, helped me get motivated to get off my ass and get my job as a machinist, and helped me generally be less of a sarcastic asshole. We are still working on that last part. My job is actually pretty cool. You know those giant excavators? I get to…

…Holy shit…

The deer! There it is! No fucking way! Oh shit what do I do? Bow! That's right, draw the bow! I take in a breath as I draw back the string fully and line up my shot. This is it, my first deer! This is so exciting; I better take my time to line everything up. Ok he is about 50 yards away, not too bad. Not the best but I've made further shots. Whoooh ok. Here we go. Line it up aaaaaaand…

_*CRACK*_

I jumped as the rifle shot rips its way through the deer's chest in a perfect shot. I see Brody jump up and let out a yelp. Shit! I look at the dog and am filled with relief as he nervously walks around. He's fine. Thank god. Jesus my heart jumped out of my god damn chest. It actually kinda hurt I… shit… that really fucking hurts I… Uhhhhh fuck… I slowly stumble back on my ass and put my hand on my chest. Am I having a heart attack? No my hearts on the left. I take my hand off my chest and it's…its covered in blood. What? I look down at the dark blossom of blood growing, I pull back my jacket and pull at the hole in my shirt to reveal a quarter sized hole in my chest.

I've been shot.

I fall onto my back and let out a pained gasp. This is a dream, it has to be. I move my finger to poke at the wound and…

"Hngggg… Fuck!"

Real. This is real. Uhhh really real. I can hardly breathe now. I sound like a broken harmonica. I feel a wet sensation on the side of my face and I look over to see Brody lying down next to my head whining.

"It's ok boy." I groan at him. "I'll be fine, I just gotta, do something." Brody whines and paws at my face. "Yeah your right, it's a shitty plan." I laugh.

Ahh shit. Don't laugh. It hurts to laugh. God it is so hard to breathe. Am I going to die? Like this? Aww fuck that. I try to lift myself to my feet but every time I move it stretches the wound and I can't do it. It's okay, I just have to wait for the other hunter to get his kill and he will help me. That's it, I just have to keep pressure on it and I'll be fine.

Right?

I lay there seemingly for hours but in reality it is probably just a few minutes. It actually helps that Brody is here, he's pushed himself against my bloodied right side keeps looking up to make sure I'm ok. Shit my blood is all over him but he doesn't give a fuck, he stays regardless.

"Wow look at that." What? Who was that? I painfully turn to see a guy laying his rifle next to the deer. I let out a groan but he doesn't look up. Fuck I gotta get his attention. My bow. I lift my left hand and toss my bow near the guy and he jumps as it impacts the ground. When his eyes fall on me they grow as wide as saucers as I shoot him a bloody wave and a nod.

"Oh my god! Are you ok?" he shouts as he runs over to me.

"It's a bit cold out, but I can't complain." I weakly chuckle. I cough at the end of my laugh and feel something wet hit my face. I reach up my hand and touch the liquid. Yup. That's blood. Not good. "Wanna give me a hand?"

"Oh god oh god oh god." He stutters as he looks at me on the ground. "I am so sorry! Oh god, what am I going to do?"

"Well you can… uhh… you can help me up for starters." I moan. "My house is only ten minutes away, and then we can call 911. Unless you've got a phone on you."

I watch the guy start going into a hysterical mutter-fest as he paces back and forth. I don't think this guy's all there, he should probably not be allowed to use a firearm. He better hurry up and help because it is getting harder and harder to see. You know how in videogames your screen goes black and white? Yeah that doesn't happen, it's more like when you are really tired. Everything gets blurry and your eyelids get heavy.

I over hear one of this man's crazy whispers, did he say he can't go back? That's not good.

"I…I cant." He says to himself.

"You can man." I say as I try to sit up through the pain. "I don't want to die here, please you have to help me."

"No, I can't. I won't."

"What?" Is he serious? I need help! "You have to help me!" I shouted in pained anger.

"No! I won't go back!" he screams at me. He starts to take a few steps back.

"No don't leave! Please you have to help I don't want to die like this!" I plead. He can't do this to me!

"I'm not leaving." He quietly says as he approaches the deer. "Don't worry though I can fix this." He slowly reaches down and grabs his rifle and turns to look at me. The look on his face is devoid of emotion, it's just a blank stare.

"What are you doing?" I try to push myself away from him with my feet but am stopped by a tree root jutting from the ground. Then he smiles at me with a twisted grin as he walks towards me, ejecting the spent shell and chambering a fresh one. "No no no. Hey man we can talk about this!" I stammer as I desperately look around. Brody is staring at this guy with his ears perked up, his body lifted from the ground ever so slightly.

"It's ok, I'm not going back!" he said with a cheery smile. "You can't make me." That he said in a low dark tone.

"Don't you fucking dare!" I yell before flinching at the pain. "You can't do this!"

"It's ok!" He smiles at me. "I know you're angry but your next life will be better!"

"What the _fuck_ are you talking about?" I ask. "Listen, I need help now. I don't think a can last too much longer."

"I know." He says as he points the rifle at my head causing me to flinch. "You won't last long at all.

"No." I whisper. "Don't." I can barely keep my eyes open now, my breathing is labored and hoarse.

"It's not going to hurt anymore. Is there anything you want before you die? Anything I can do to make you more comfortable?" he asks. What the fuck is wrong with this guy?

"Yeah." I breathe.

"What is it?"

"Take that rifle."

"Yeah?"

"And put it in your mouth." I sneer as I shoot him a glare.

"Haha." He chuckles. "You have more fire then the others."

"Lucky me." Others? Great. I find the one psychopath in Canada.

"Ok let's get to it shall we?" he says as I see his finger hover towards the trigger of his gun. "Any last words?"

"Just two."

I let out a sigh. I hope this works.

"Brody." I see his head perk up out of the corner of my eye.

"_Fass._"

In the blink of an eye Brody hurls his body over mine causing me to clamp my eyes shut. I hear him let out a throaty growl and then the crack of a rifle echoes through the woods. Once the noise of the gun dissipates I hear a low growl and the sounds of a struggle. A small smile forms on my lips as I enjoy this moment before I bleed out. You gotta enjoy the little things right?

But then my smile fades and my heart sinks as I hear the worst sound I have ever heard in my life.

I hear the sound of a shell being ejected from a rifle.

_No._

I open my eyes and look over to see something that I never wanted to. I see Brody in a lump on the ground, a neat hole in his side. I feel the tears start to well in my eyes. I look at my best friend, covered in blood as he looks back at me. I open my mouth to say something, anything, but nothing comes out. He blinks as he lets out a heavy sigh, a slight whimper escaping with it. This is my fault. I shouldn't have told him to do anything, if I didn't he might not have hurt him. This is all _my _fault. I watch as he blinks one more time but his eyes don't open.

He is gone.

My _best _friend.

Because of me.

"Sorry about that." The man says as he chambers another round. "A poor choice in words. Do you want to try again?"

He walks up to me and pushes the barrel right against my forehead, but I don't pay it any mind. I just stare at Brody, I can't take my eyes off of him.

"Nothing? Where is that fire we talked about?" he says with a coy smile. I turn my head and look at him, a psychopathic grin plastered on his face. I let my head fall to the ground without taking my eyes off of his.

"You're a fucking asshole." I mutter as I let my eyes close.

"Ahh there it is."

Then he pulls the trigger.

* * *

Hmm, so apparently there is a white light. There is some sort of low humming too. I guess this is heaven. To be honest it's not all it's cracked up to be. The light is too bright so I can't see, and that droning noise is pretty annoying. As an atheist, I'm not that impressed with heaven so far. Well I did just get here so I can judge too harshly, besides you never know what is waiting.

_{That's right! There is a world of possibilities out there!}_

…

Jesus?

[He isn't Jesus you stupid asshole.]

Well I know you're not Jesus.

_{Not with his current attitude he isn't, but I believe with a little bit of effort and a helping hand he can get close!}_

[Fuck off shit head.]

Is this a joke?

_{It is not.}_

[No.]

Oh… so I'm just crazy. Unless these voices in my head are supposed to be here then… well I guess I'd still be crazy either way right?

_{Oh you're not crazy!}_

[Not yet anyway.]

Oh, that good I guess. So who are you magical voices in my head?

[We're you subconscious dumbass.]

_{We are here to help you on your journey!}_

[You might be. I had no choice.]

I'm not so sure that you two are my subconscious. I mean first of all there are two of you, second is you are a fucking asshole and you seem way too nice and constructive.

[Good job Dr. Obvious, did you figure that out all by yourself?]

_{Why thank you! I think you're nice too!}_

Thank you for proving my point.

_{Good job!}_

[No, it wasn't. Once again this asshole just points out the obvious and you needlessly praise him.]

What the fuck is going on! Who are you really? Am I even fucking dead? Where am I? If this is some sort of joke I _will_ find you and I _will _beat the living shit out of you!

_{We are a split of your subconscious, the polar opposites to be precise. No you're not dead, not anymore anyway which is really super! You will find out where you are soon, I would tell you but I would hate to spoil it! No it's not a joke. That would be a mean joke. And you can do whatever you set your mind to!}_

[You piece of shit! You couldn't have let him figure that out himself? He would have bumbled around like the shit head he is, with that goofy shit eating grin on his mug. It would have been hilarious!]

Hey fuck you asshole! I can figure this out on my own. Are we done now? I'm assuming this bright ass light will go away once I am done talking to the voices in my head LIKE A GODDAMN CRAZY PERSON!

_{Ok you may go now! Have fun and stay safe!}_

[Piss off already.]

Suddenly the droning noise and blinding light disappears to reveal a small room with benches littering the outer walls. There are only four people sitting among the benches, they look kinda beat up actually. They're all dirty, some of them have fresh scars and they all look generally sad. Oh shit scars! I quickly look down at my chest and to my surprise there is no hole in my jacket, not even any blood. That's good right? I look around hoping to see Brody but am not surprised when he isn't here. That's what I get for putting him in harm's way.

I move to stand up but I feel something on my left wrist and ankles. What the fuck? Is that rope? Seriously? Nobody ties me up! Well, not like this anyway. My right hand is still free though which is weird. Ok how do I get out of this? I don't see my bow anywhere but that wouldn't help anyway so scratch that. Oh cool, I still have my kukri! I reach for my lower back and carefully unsheathe the blade. The other people in the room take notice and now I can see that they are tied up too.

What the hell is going on here?

I can figure that out later. My kukri makes short work of the rope and I am free in a matter of seconds. The other people who are tied up suddenly look up in awe as I am standing up. I have to help these people. I slowly make my way around the room cutting loose the other captives. I stop at the last one, a woman about my age. I can tell she has been crying because her makeup is smeared down her face. She looks absolutely miserable.

"Hey there, it's going to be ok." I say as I gently tilt her chin up. "I'm going to get us out of here somehow."

She just looks right into my eyes and whispers back at me. "You can't do anything, once these bastards get you, that's it. They've got you."

"We'll see about that." I say as I stand up straight. Who the hell are these assholes? You know what? I don't care who they are, this isn't right. I look to my right and see a door, but it looks…odd, it's nothing like I've seen before. I tighten my grip on my kukri before I walk over. I almost jump as the door slides open on its own and reveals a whole new hell. Hundreds of people, all lined up and bound together. The low lighting makes it hard to see but I can see them. I… I don't know what to do with this. I was happy to help those first four but this is too much. It's not that I don't want to but I have to be quick to get out of here.

Shit.

Then I notice something. One of these slave driving bastards is standing right beside me, just standing there looking over the sea of slaves with some sort of assault rifle in hand. I raise my kukri up to try to get at his throat but I can't do it. I can't kill a man, even if he is a slaver. I can't bring myself to take another human beings life…

But I can knock his ass out!

I quickly twist my wrist and slam the handle of my kukri into the side of his skull. He lets out half a grunt before going limp, and as he starts to fall back I manage to catch him before he hits the ground. I gently lower him down and then pick up his rifle. Shit I can't even see what it is. I curse as I slide my hand along the side of the weapon but I can't feel a bolt or slide or anything. I mean I have never felt anything like this before, I've found the trigger but if it has a safety I can't seem to fucking find it. This effectively makes this gun useless to me. A gun you don't know how to use isn't a gun. It's basically a fancy club. So I figure I should at least move it away from this asshole and keep my knife.

I look across what I am assuming is a barge or other big boat, and see another guard walking through a door at the opposite side of the room. I might as well start there. As I make my way through the slaves I can see them noticing me but none of them dare to make noise lest they alert the guards. Actually there are almost no guards, just the guy I'm following and the one I knocked out. These guys are sloppy.

I finally reach the door and try not to get close so it doesn't swing open like the last one. I can hear a lot of panicked voices on the other side though, some of them are English and the others are in some language I don't understand. Doesn't matter though, I've got to get in there. But before I can even open the door it swooshes open and three men charge out. I raise my knife but they just push past me, yelling and screaming.

What the hell?

I look at the open door and my jaw hits the floor. There is some sort of glowing metal orb in this room, just buzzing and going crazy and stuff. I've seen that orb before. I know I have. I notice there are a bunch of panels in front of it and I decide to go check them out. I start to read them and come to a realization.

Eezo…

Drive core…

FTL…

It can't be, there's no way. I have seen this before, in one place in particular…

Mass Effect!

_{I knew you would figure it out!}_

[Yeah we're all shocked.]

Just then all of the panels light up red and the drive core starts to shudder. Oh that's why they were running away. Before I can even make a single move the side of the core erupts in a bright white light, just before everything goes dark.

* * *

My eyes shoot open and I suck in a quick breath. I look around to see the burnt out drive core and a giant hole blown through the roof letting me see a blue sky with stars peppering it with light. I slowly get to my feet and notice I am covered in some shitty blue dust. It's fucking everywhere. I brush most of it off and… Jesus it smells like blue mountain dew as gasoline. Whatever this is it can't be good for me so I make my way out of the engine room and am stunned to find a shitload of soldiers helping the slaves out of the barge. I'm about to worry until I see they all have the alliance logo on their pauldrons. Thank god. I start to wave one of the troopers down.

"Hey!" I shout as I walk towards the first one to turn around. "About time you guys showed up."

The soldiers all stop what they are doing and stare at me. None of them are moving, just… starting at me. I look down and see I'm still holding onto my knife. Is that it?

"Hey sorry." I say as I lift up my hands in a defensive manor. "I'll put this away." I slowly sheath the knife and cock my head and smile. I start to feel a little light headed actually, I might have gotten a concussion from the blast.

"How is he alive?" I hear one of the soldiers mutter. What is he talking about? The blast? It looked like most of it was directed out the roof. Fuck I still have some of that dust on me. I start to brush it off but I stop when I hear more of the soldiers talking.

"We need a quarantine team down hear ASAP." One of them quietly barks into his Omni-tool. Aww cool an Omni-tool! Wow I am getting really light headed. Did he say quarantine?

"Med-evac too, this guy needs to get to a hospital now!" one of the soldiers yells.

"Guys I'm fine." I try to reason to them. I give a quick sniff. I think that dust got in my nose, I can feel it running. I nonchalantly wipe my nose with my hand but I do a double take when I see my hand is now smeared with blood. That's weird. I can't help but start to blink heavily, some dust must have gotten in my eye too. Wow… I am really dizzy I just… I just need to lie down. Next thing I know I feel a slight pain in my back and I'm looking at the ceiling. That was quick. What is that ringing noise? It's kind of annoying. Why are there all these people crowded around me? I just want to sleep, leave me alone. As I drift of I hear bits and pieces of the peoples conversation as I pass out.

"…emergency…prep the… treatment… severe element zero exposure… don't think he will make it…"

**A/N: So what did you guys think? I appreciate any feedback at all, even the bad ones. So yeah, chapter one is done! Leave your feedback and I will see you next time.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hey people! Wow you guys are awesome! I got a bunch of favorites and follows in just a couple hours and then it just kept going throughout the past couple days. I also got a handful of reviews (Which I think I will respond to at the end of each chapter) which made my day! I'm pumped you guys are enjoying the story and I threw in a twist into this chapter which you may or may not have seen coming. I also have been doing some long range planning which is already paying off which makes me really excited. And the last thing is if any of you catch the Portal reference in this chapter then you're a swell fella! **

**Chapter 2**  
-Oh? How Interesting-

_Uhhh._ Am I dead?

_{Don't say that! You're going to be ok!}_

[Unfortunately.]

Great. You two are still here.

[Yeah we're thrilled too.]

_{We will always be here for you!}_

Shut up. I open my eyes to see some sort of clean room. There is a bunch of machinery posted up against the walls, some of them are making subtle beeps and tones. On my left there is an odd looking IV hooked up to my arm, and a bunch of other little things hooked up to my chest. You know, those little suction cup things? Yeah those. I try to sit up but my head slams against some sort of barrier.

[Ha!]

_{Are you ok?}_

Yeah whatever. Oh its glass. Apparently there is some sort of tube holding me in this bed, it's a little less cool then magic barrier but it'll have to do. Where are my clothes? Ahh who cares anymore, with all of the stuff I've been through in the last couple… hours? Days? How long have been passed out? At least I'm still wearing underwear. Man did I lose weight? I mean I used to have a bit of a gut, hmm I wonder where it went. I look fuckin' good! I am interrupted mid tangent by a pale raven haired nurse entering the room. And of course she is attractive. Why? Because I'm stuffed in a glass tube in my underwear that's why.

"How are you feeling?" she says as she stares at her datapad. Aww cool a datapad! Oh she is looking at me now. I should probably answer her, play it cool man. Say something funny with a dash of sexy.

[Oh this will be good!]

Leave me alone!

_{You are a good person and any girl would be lucky to have you!}_

[Yeah good luck being sexy when you're crammed in that tube!]

_{He can do anything he sets his mind to!}_

[Naa, shit-for-brains here is as useless as tits on a nun.]

GET OUT OF MY HEAD!

…

I turn to the nurse. "A little exposed." I chuckle.

[Boooooo.]

GET! OUT!

"I don't think you know the half of it." She says as she places the datapad on one of the machines. "The doctor can tell you more, I'm just here to fill out some basic information. Is that ok?"

Nope, that is not ok! What am I going to tell her? _Hey sweetheart you come her often? I don't, this is all a videogame world that I play for fun. I was killed by a psychopath in the woods and was sent here to be tormented by the voices in my head. So you wanna get out of here? _I doubt that will work out. Shit she is staring at me! What do I say?

"Yes." Good, stall her. We can cross the whole "identity" bridge when we get to it.

"Ok, let's start with your name."

…

Fuck.

You know what? Screw it. I can bullshit my way through anything. And who knows, maybe everything is already set up like some of the fanfictions I've read? Might as well give her my real name though, I'd hate to be stuck with a fake one.

"Uhh ok. My name is James Matticks, m-a-t-t-i-c-k-s." I spell out.

She picks up her datapad and starts typing down what I assume is my name and then gives me a look. That's not good.

"Mr. Matticks do you have any other know aliases?" she asks skeptically.

"My friends call me Maverick, but other than that no." I reply.

"Maverick?" she asks with a raise brow.

"You know, sounds kinda like Matticks..." I say sheepishly. "Top Gun reference…" God that stare she is giving me makes me feel so stupid.

"Uh huh." She says as she makes another note in her datapad. "Well I don't have you in any known database…" I half expect her to hit a button under a desk and then a N7 team will breach the room to take me away to some gulag to interrogate me.

"Don't worry though, it's very common whenever the people begin to colonize another world. I can actually set up your personal id right now if you would like." She says with a gentle smile.

Ok, no N7 team yet. So far, so good. She is staring again.

"Yeah sure." I nod. "How do I do that?"

"Well I already have your name, do you have an emergency contact?"

"Uhh no."

"What is your profession?"

"Machinist."

"Ok… any allergies or outstanding medical conditions?"

"Nope."

"Perfect. Ok that's it."

"That's it?"

"Yup, we already have your DNA form the tests we have already done. Do you have any other questions?"

Hmm how do I put this in a way that doesn't make me seem crazy? "Uhh yeah. What's the date today? How long have I been out?"

_{Good Job!}_

[Yeah, real smooth.]

…I swear to god…

"Well today is…" she lifts her wrist and her Omni-tool lights up. Cool. "February 4th, 2183…"

Ok, so the attack on Eden Prime happens sometime in 2183. So I'm assuming I have a few months before the whole "Vanguard of Destruction" thing goes down. I should actually…

"…And you were brought here on September 5th so you've been out for about 151 days now." She says in a nonchalant manor.

…

What. The. Fuck.

"Wh-what?" I stammer. That's like five months! How could they keep me sedated this long? This is ridiculous! I can feel the anger boiling up, my muscles tingling with fury! I shoot a glare over at the nurse but she is already backed away, she looks terrified. Its ok James, just think about it. They wouldn't keep me under for so long if it wasn't needed. I feel my tingling in my muscles fade away and the anger subsides. "I'm sorry. I'm sure you had a reason for it." She doesn't move closer but she nods quickly and almost runs out of the door without saying a word.

That's kind of weird, it's not like I could have hurt her. I am stuck in this tube after all, I probably should have asked about that. I'm just about to think up some sort of plan to get onto the Normandy when an armed soldier walks in and posts himself on the door. He is wearing a standard issue Alliance blue hard suit and is holding the classic Lancer. Why is he here? Then a middle aged blonde woman walks in the room, dressed to the nine in doctor stuff. You know stethoscope, lab coat over scrubs that sorta stuff. And before you ask, yes she is good looking. Why you ask? I think you know why.

"Mr. Matticks, I'm here to tell you about your… condition." She said as she sits down next to me.

"Doesn't sound like good news doc, what going on?" I say, still eyeballing the soldier by the door.

"You received direct exposure to large amounts of element zero." She explained. "Amounts that should have killed you."

"I'm not seeing the problem doc." I shake my head. "I lived when I should have died. Which brings up my next question: how did I survive?"

"It's something that I have never seen before. Your immune system is, well, under developed."

"Thanks?" I ask. Is that a good thing? "What does that mean really?"

"Ok I will try to explain it." She sighs. "Your average immune system, aided with modern vaccinations and medicine would have been able to hold off the advance of element zero poisoning until it hit its limit and collapsed on itself. Somehow you lack the initial resistance of eezo and it was absorbed into your entire system with great ease." She looks up at me to make sure I'm following her.

"Ok." I say, motioning for her to continue.

"Now your immune system let in the eezo and was able to adapt to the large amount it. This could only happen if you have never been exposed to eezo in your entire life. Anybody who travels in a ship is exposed to trace amounts of eezo which their body silently rejects. This first contact to eezo allows the body to verify the threat and chooses to build a tolerance. Your body however realized that with the large amounts of eezo, it could keep you alive longer by adapting instead of rejecting, thus giving us enough time to get you to a hospital to start purging the dangerous toxins from your body."

"Huh." Who would have thought being less prepared would be better. I suppose it's like a car crash, it's better to go limp then to brace for it. "So am I ok now?"

"Yes, we were able to purge the toxins from your body." She says as she stand up to look at some beeping machine.

"I assume if it took 151 days for you to purge it all there must have been a lot huh?"

"Yes." She turns back to me. "The only reason it took that long is we had to pause to clone you new organs when they began shutting down."

"Oh… how many organs did you have to replace?" I ask as I watch her check another machine.

"Well…" she pauses. "It would be easier to say we didn't have to remove your gallbladder, spleen, diaphragm and your brain."

Shit.

"There is one other thing." She starts. "Do to the eezo exposure… you have devolved biotics. The evidence of such became apparent when you were first brought here and have developed fully in your comatose state."

…

No. Fucking. Way.

That's so fucking awesome! Holy shit! Ok, compose yourself.

"Oh? How interesting." I try to say calmly.

"Yes." She says seeing my excitement. "I can see you don't fully understand what this means."

Oh shit this sounds serious. She takes a seat next to me again and gives me a stern look.

"Do to the amount of exposure and your rapid adaptation of the eezo, you have an unprecedented biotic ability."

"What do you mean?"

"You have the natural biotic ability of someone who is running a L3 implant."

"So?"

"You don't have any implants. Your abilities are of the rarest kind, and that only applies to some cases of asari. We have never seen this in humans." She tells me.

"This doesn't sound as bad as your making it out to be."

"People who have biotics have to learn to control them before they are fitted with implants…"

"I see." I cut her off. "It's like to learn to drive for the first time with a car that has too much power. Your just gunna end up hurting yourself."

"Yes… did you say car?" Oh shit. "Nevermind, yes that is right. It's the main reason he is here." She nods to the soldier who straightens up when I look at him. That's probably why the first nurse was scared when I got mad, fuck now I feel like a dick.

I'm about to say thank you when a sudden realization pops into my mind.

"How much will all of this cost?" I ask, not really wanting to know the answer.

"Now that you id has been cleared up, your insurance covers eighty percent of the cost of all of the purging procedures and cloned organs." She says as she grabs a new datapad.

"Awesome!" I exclaim. I'm looking at a small number that I can work off quickly and start making a name for myself and…

"So it just comes to 500,000 credits. Do you have an account?"

…

[Ha!]

I… I can't pay that… what am I going to do? She is staring at me. I guess I just tell her.

"I can't afford that." I admit.

"That's ok." She says with a smile. "What will happen is your account will go in the red, any money you earn is directed to your bill."

"Great." I mutter. "Can I get out of this tube?"

"Yes an orderly will bring you your clothes and help you out. Will there be anything else?" she asks as she makes her way to the door.

"Yeah. Where am I?"

"You're on the SSV Expedition." She announces over her shoulder.

"Where is this boat headed?" I yell after her.

"The Citadel."

Awesome.

* * *

In case you're wondering, yes the orderly that helped me out of the tube was a woman. I swear it's like there is a factory pumping them out somewhere and they're sending them to me to be processed. I pull on my burgundy shirt and throw on my jacket, five minutes later I have my hat on just right and I make my way to explore the ship.

I open the door and see that this ship is nothing like the Normandy, I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I stand there for about a minute just staring back and forth down the hall. Finally a soldier walks by and stops in front of me, he mimics me as I continue to look around and then he finally speaks up.

"Lost?" he asks as he looks at me.

"Yeah, do you have a map or something?" I ask as I lean back on the wall.

"Yeah here." He says as his Omni-tool lights up. That's so cool! I push myself off of the wall and walk over to him. He cocks his head as I stand next to him and look over his shoulder at the map.

"Uh…" he says as he gives me an uneasy look. "You know I can just put this on your Omni-tool right?"

"Umm. I don't actually have one." I say as I awkwardly rub the back of my neck. "Do you have any extra ones?"

The soldier lets out a sigh and rolls his eyes. "I don't know check with our requisition officer. He is just down this hall, take a left at the end and then the armory is on your right." and then he just huffs off.

"Asshole." I mutter as I begin to follow the directions he gave me. I find the armory within a minute and head on inside.

Sweet mother of god…

I am absolutely stunned as I look at the armories set up. There is literately a wall of guns on my left, and on my right is a bunch of machinery that looks like its fabricating parts. The machines automated arms swirl around with blinding speed, sparks flying out every time an arm stops and switches directions.

"Can I help you?" a voice comes from my left, snapping me out of my trance.

"Yeah." I say as I look at the man. "I was wondering if you have an extra Omni-tool, and then if you could help me set it up."

"I can do that." He says in a cheery voice. "But you have to do me a favor."

"Depends on the favor." I reply. "What d'ya need?"

"You're that guy who was caught in the explosion right?" he asks.

"Yup." I nod.

"And now you have biotics right?" he asks as he leans forward.

"Yeah…" I say uneasily. "I don't know how to control it though, I haven't even tried to us them yet."

"Perfect!" he smiles. "My friend Mack lost a bet and I get to choose the punishment. Mack's a biotic too and hated when it was time to train other biotics. All you have to do is go and get biotic lessons from Mack and I'll set you up."

"Deal!" I exclaim as I step forward. This is perfect! I get an Omni-tool, and biotic lessons! It a win-win.

"Great! The name's Waiter." He says as he extends his hand.

"Maverick." I smile as I take his hand and give it a firm shake.

"Here, this here is standard issue for alliance marines." He says as he holds out some sort of weird gun, it looks kind of like those piercing guns. You know, for earrings and stuff? "Comes fully loaded with the usual Omni-tool applications, communicator, music, video, notepad, and some other junk."

"And here's where you tell me about the cool stuff right?" I say with a smirk.

Waiter just looks at me as a smile creeps on his lips. "Nope."

What?

"What?"

"Haha!" he laughs. "You didn't think I'd give a civilian military hardware did you?"

"I… well I guess not." I say with a bit of a pout. I guess that makes sense though. "Wanna show me the rest of the features."

So Waiter shows me how to work my Omni-tool and in a few minutes I get the hang of it. It's actually really easy to use, the interface is surprisingly smooth. Putting it on is a whole other story. Yeah that gun I mentioned? Turns out it just shoots the implant into your wrist and another a few inches behind your ear. The one on your wrist projects the Omni-tool and the one that's in your head just reads the electrical impulses in your brain that activate when you want to use your Omni-tool.

Yeah it doesn't really make sense to me either so I'm going to chalk this up for space science. Not like I care anyway, as long as it works right?

"Ok so where is Mack?" I ask after the little crash course. I look down as my Omni-tool lights up with a little ping.

I think I just had a nerdgasm. My Omni-tool just pinged! I open the message and see that it's a map of the Expedition with one of the locations marked with an objective from one Warrant Officer Hayden K. Waittens.

"Well thanks Waiter." I say as I stand up. "I'll tell Mack you said hi."

"You do that." He shouts as I leave the armory.

* * *

I look at the top of the door that my Omni-tool has lead me to. The big words "Gymnasium" are etched into the metal. I reach over and tap the green panel to reveal a stunning gym, it's got all of the classics like the treadmill and the bench-press and then a couple new ones that I don't recognize. I see an auburn haired woman jumping rope next to some punching bags. Jesus I can't even see the rope she is going so fast, her sneakers a blur as they pound the ground. Her legs wrapped in black spandex pump like pistons. Her chest heaving with exhaustion but she keeps going like a well-oiled machine. Sweat dripping off her brow and down her neck and into her sports bra. Her… toned body glistening in the florescent light…

_{You know it's rude to stare.}_

Yeah I just… I mean there's nothing wrong with looking right? I'm just looking, and what she doesn't know won't hurt her. I'm only human.

[Yeah fuck off! How can you not stare? Look at that ass! It's like a juicy ripe peach just waiting for me to take a bite!]

Yeah well there's a big difference between admiring a woman's body and sexual harassment you idiot.

_{That's right! A woman's body is a temple and should be treated with respect!}_

[I would explore every inch of her temple!]

Guys! Shut up! I was just looking, and I'm not biting anything!

[Who said anything about you?]

"Enjoying the show?" I freeze as I notice the woman is staring at me with a condescending look on her face.

"Yeah." I say as try to play it cool by putting my hand in my pocket and shoot her a coy smile. "When's the encore?"

"Sorry." She says as she brushes her bangs out of her blue eyes. "You'll have to get tickets to the next one."

"Who do I have to talk too to upgrade to backstage passes?" I say as I walk forward with a cheeky smile.

"Oooh." She says as she scrunches up her face. "I'm all sold out, I guess you're stuck watching."

Oh well. I tried and was shot down. I better find Mack.

"Trust me I'm fine with that. Anyway I came here looking for someone can you help me out?" I ask.

"Yeah, who is it?" she asks as she squares up to a punching bag.

"Mack, Waiter told me he'd be here." I say as I look. The woman stops moving and I visibly see her deflate as she sighs. She turns around and she has the most unimpressed and angry look on her face.

"Goddamnit Waiter." She mutters under her breath before bringing up her Omni-tool. "Waiter!" she yells into her wrist. "No! Pick something else!"

I can't help but smile as I hear Waiter giggle his response. "_-Haha! No way! You lost the bet! Ta-ta Mack!-_"

Mack is downright seething now as Waiter hangs up on her. She shoots me an angry glare as she hears me laugh under my breath, I quickly stifle the laughs and avert my eyes from her glare.

She begins to look me up and down gauging my worth and I comply by standing straight and holding out my arms.

"Alright, I'll train you. Just a crash course though." She huffs as she walks towards me, inspecting me the whole time. She begins to circle me in a way that's surprisingly intimidating. "Do you have any martial arts training?"

"Well some of my friends did so naturally I learned to defend against it." I try to chuckle to get her to smile. It didn't work.

"How well?"

"I don't know…" I shrug, I never went to classes or anything but whenever me and the boys would get all beved' up they thought it would be a good idea to fight. So naturally my drunk friends wanted to fight the biggest guy, which at 6'5" was me.

"Let's find out." She said as she stretched her neck and got into a fighting stance.

"Wha-" I can't even finish my sentence before she leans back and launches her shin at my head. Without thinking I bring up my forearm to absorb the blow and when her shin connects with my arm I quickly twist and wrap it around her leg. Yeah! Take that! I know my stuff lady and now you're in deep shit. Suddenly a pain shoots out from my jaw causing me to let go of her leg, I look over to see her fist retracting back to its guard position. Never mind.

"Ok let's try something else." She says as she jogs backwards quickly.

"What'dya got?" I say as I touch my face and look at my hand for blood. Nope, no blood. And then I look up to see something that makes me rethink this whole training thing. I see Mack walk toward a rack of dumbbells and stops about fifteen feet from the rack. Her biotics flare and she whips her hand at the rack, throwing a blue ball of energy. The ball hits a small dumbbell and the weight is yanked out and slaps into Macks hand.

Shit.

Without a moment's hesitation her biotics flare and the weight is flung at me with an absolutely blinding speed. There is nothing I can do, there is no time to move, there is barely enough time to flinch. I feel a dull punch on my stomach. That can't be right. I look down and am baffled when I see the weight on the ground and a huge patch of purplish-blue energy hovering an inch over my body. The patch fades quickly and I look up to Mack looking at me with her arms crossed and a shit eating grin on her face.

"Well your barriers work on an instinctive level. They're pretty good actually."

"What the fuck is wrong with you!" I shout as I pick up the weight, I'm half tempted to throw it back.

"Good, get angry!" she shouts as she glows blue and runs towards me. "That's when you figure out what you are truly capable of!"

She suddenly throws another orb at me and it hits be in the side giving me a surprisingly forceful push, enough to make me lose my balance and swing my arms around to correct my stance. Alright, let's go! I take maybe, oh I don't know, half a step before I am blanketed in a tingling feeling and hoisted into the air. I tilt my head to see Mack with that shit eating grin on her face again and her hand raised in the air slightly open, like she is holding an apple. Then she clamps her hand closed into a tight fist and I can feel the energy tighten around me. Not crushing me though, more like, securing me. Then my world rockets to the left as I gracefully soar threw the air.

_{Like an eagle!}_

[Piloting a blimp.]

Next thing I know I slam into a punching bag and fall to the floor. Jesus I'm getting my ass kicked. I reach up to pull myself up with the punching bag but it suddenly shoots away from me as I slide along the floor. Goddamnit. I twist my body and sit up as I slide and see Mack lining up her knee so I run right into it. My arms fly up just in time and I'm slammed back down to the ground as her knee claps against my forearms.

I suddenly feel a weight on my stomach and I open my eyes to see Mack on top of me, he legs pressed against my sides. If you don't know anything about MMA, this is VERY bad. Almost immediately a salvo of fist pelts down on me like hail on a tin roof. Two or three land and I can taste some blood in my mouth, I tuck my head into my forearms and try to scoop my legs around her chest trying to pull her off of me. She is bloody relentless.

_{Are you ok? You're bleeding!}_

I'm fine.

[No you're not, you're getting your ass kicked by a girl.]

She is a trained soldier! And biotic! I've been in bar fights and found out I've got biotics less than an hour ago!

[You're a pussy.]

I am not!

_{That's right! You're a nice person!}_

[You're a fucking bitch, a useless sack of meat with a shitty jacket and shitty hair!]

No I'm not!

[You're a goddamn waste of space.]

Shut up!

[Is this your new hobby? Laying down while you let people kill you?]

Shut the fuck up!

[It's a good thing your mutt isn't here or you would get him killed to.]

"GET OFF!" I scream in pure rage. I tuck my left arm back and swing it as hard as I can, I feel it explode in a tingling sensation as I hear a loud biotic smack. I force my eyes apart and find out that I am standing up already and I see Mack sailing through the air. She bioticly twists her body midair and lands on her feet about twenty meters away, I can see a line of blood trailing down from her nose. I set my feet, arms open at my side and flex my hands, letting out a roar as the biotic energy flows through me. Suddenly my vision is a blur and I hear a loud clap that sounds like the sound barrier being broken, and in a blink my shoulder buries itself into Mack's chest.

I wipe some sweat from my brow as I hear Mack let out a pained grunt as she is forced backwards into the ground. But I don't stop. I feel myself lift off the ground and I twist my body while reigning back my right hand as it crackles with a biotic aura before I bring it slamming to the ground. I shockwave explodes when my hand touches the ground, I look up to see Mack once again sailing back, apparently she managed to get off the floor in time to avoid my attack.

I feel the sweat pouring into my eyes as I advance towards Mack again. She quickly skitters back and up to her feet and her biotics flare. I can't help but smile as I continue to walk towards her, my right hand aglow with wisps of blue energy. She throws out her hand lets loose another ball of energy, I quickly bring my right hand up to meet her attack. The two forces clap together violently and detonate and I feel it lightly push against my body.

Suddenly I hear a sound of glass shattering with a twang of biotics and then a heat wrap around my body and a force that feels like I ran into a wall. I'm flung back and open my eyes to see Mack walking up to me holding her ribs. I reach out to try to smack her away again but I can't even lift my arm to do it. I'm drenched in sweat and my heart is beating out of my chest. I am a huffing mess on the floor as Mack stands over me.

"Tired?" she grunts as she looks down at me. "Looks like you weren't watching your barriers."

I try to say yeah but "_Huuuhieuh_" comes out instead. Mack smiles as she walks over to a small fridge and grabs several bottles of water. She opens one and begins drinking as she approaches, making me reach for her like a hungry baby does to its mother's teat, my mouth drying up as I grasp for the bottle.

"Here you go." She sighs as she unscrews a fresh bottle and simply pours it over my head, honestly I don't even care, I just roll my head around trying to evenly coat it in the cold liquid. After about the fifth bottle of water I try to stand up. I got as far as sitting up. It'll have to do.

* * *

After a shower I washed my clothes I headed to the mess hall to meet up with Waiter and Mack. As I enter I see the two sitting at a table with another guy I've never seen before. As I walk up I raise my hand and opened my mouth to ask a question but Mack sees me and just points to a kitchen area. How'd she know? Oh well. I head over to what can only be described as a space kitchen and find a stack of trays. After grabbing one and stuffing it with as much food as the laws of physics allows and I walk over to the drink dispenser.

Hmm. No liquor, not even a nice lager. Orange juice should do for now.

I head over to Waiters table and have a seat next to him.

"Hey Waiter, hey Mack." I nod. "Guy I don't know." I tilt my glass at him before taking a swig.

"Jason." He says as he shovels some food into his mouth. "Quite the plate you made yourself." He motions to my mound of food.

"Yeah, after my training with Mack I'm kinda hungry." I say between bites. "To bad they don't have any booze to wash this down."

"Heh tell me about it." Jason visibly pouts. "Closest thing they have is rubbing alcohol in the med bay." The table breaks out in a light chuckle before going into an awkward silence. I think over what Jason said and I pick up my orange juice and narrow my eyes at it. I look up to see the table has noticed me staring at the juice.

"Where is the med bay?" I joke. That gets a decent laugh. We then descend into an idle chitchat, talking about the explosion and more about the colony, turns out those were just your run of the mill slavers and I was actually on Freedoms Progress. The Expedition was trying to set up some stuff to increase the Alliances influence over there and just so happened to arrive when they were under attack. Mack also gave me a bunch of extranet links to help me hone my biotics, she said it would take me a few months to perfect controlling my biotics but years to master and make them more powerful.

"So." I say as I scrape my tray. "How long until we reach the Citadel?" Waiter checks his Omni-tool and looks through a couple apps.

"Half an hour." He says as his Omni-tool fades. "Then it's a refuel and we're off again."

Oh man, what am I going to do when I get to the Citadel? I have no money, no job, no home, I'm pretty much fucked. Ok well I want to hang around the Zakera ward so I should get a job around there, then I just have to wait until I get my first paycheck which I can use to pay for an apartment… or my medical bills… I'm so fucked. There might be a shelter or something I can sleep and shower in, and then work until I pay my debt.

Fuck me right?

Oh shit how am I going to afford guns and armor so I can be combat ready for the Normandy? Would they be able to pay me as a mercenary or private contractor? If they don't then I how am I supposed to pay this off, 500,000 credits is a shitload of money. I don't think I ever saved that much up in all three Mass Effects combined! Shit!

"Are you alright?" Mack asks, interrupting my thoughts.

I let out a sigh as I lean back in my chair and grab my orange juice. "No, not really." I admit while looking at my OJ. I turn back to Jason.

"Where did you say the med bay was?"

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews people! **

**Michae1amge1o: Thanks, I've been pondering whether or not to bring him back or not. Thanks for reading and I'm glad you liked it!**

**Sapphiros: Thanks for the recommendation, I checked out that community and I'm loving it. No shortage of stories there, thanks again!**

**Dempsey121: Thanks man, I checked yours out and I like the idea of seeing the world through a characters eyes, it just need some work on increasing the flow.**

**XraiderV1: Glad you liked it! There will defiantly be more!**

**Spritstrike: Cheers! Ill have to add your SI to my list of "to reads"! And I guess your wait is over huh?**

**CrimsonKnight117: Thanks man, that means a lot. I hope you enjoyed chapter 2!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: You didn't need to read this.**

**Chapter 3  
**-Business Opportunity-

Wow. Just…wow. I look through the windows placed on the bridge of the Expedition as the Citadel materializes from the nebula, the arms reaching for us as ships buzz around ports. Its jaw dropping.

"First time seeing the Citadel?" the pilot asks over his shoulder.

"Yeah." I whisper, still stunned by the vista displayed before me.

"I could tell." He quips before going back to his controls and coordinating with the traffic controller.

After a minute I manage to tear myself away from the view and head off to meet Mack, Jay, and Waiter by the decontamination airlock. As I walk I feel my hand bump something and I look to see my kukri dangling on my belt. I wonder what the knife laws are on the Citadel. I better hide it, just in case.

I play with angle adjuster on the sheath and then tuck it so the blade is running the length of my pants right along the waistband, with the handle jutting out of my pants just up and to the right of my right back pocket. I pull my shirt and jacket over the handle as I nod at the Alliance soldiers.

"Maverick!" Waiter calls out as I approach. I give a lazy two fingered wave as I position myself among the group.

"Hey guys." I say. "I guess you're all on leave huh?"

"Yeah, going to hit Flux for some drinks." Jase explains. "You coming?"

"I would but I can't afford to." I admit as I rub the back of my neck. "Turns out the bill for a total organ transplant cost a shitload."

"I'll pay for you Mav." Waiter offers. "I'm sure you could use a few after the beating you took from Mack." He points out the cut on my lip and the lump forming on my jaw.

"Please." I say as I lift my hands. "I've gotten it way worse than that."

"He held his own for a bit." Mack smirks. "He gassed pretty quick and had no discipline or skill whatsoever, but he had some merits."

"Is that so?" I say as a grin forms on my face. "Please Miss Mack, educate us!"

The group chuckles as Mack shoots me the finger before sighing. "Well _Mr. Matticks_, your charge was the most impressive thing about your performance. The biotic bitch slap was ok to."

"Biotic bitch slap?" Jase asks with a quizzical look on his face. "Never heard of that."

"I wouldn't call it a bitch slap." I say feigning insult. "More like a biotic back hand."

"I'll be honest, that sounds like the same thing, just with a different name." Waiter muses.

"Like you would know!" I shout. Before anyone can say anything the door to the airlock opens and the three Alliance soldiers step into the small room. I absently mindedly follow them into the room and look around as the decontamination waves wash over me and I'm surprised I don't feel anything when they touch my skin. Then the next airlock opens and we step out onto the Citadel. I walk out onto the station and I can only imagine I looked like a kid in a toy store, you know, just walking around staring up at the buildings as I spin around aimlessly. Suddenly I bump into someone and turn to face them.

"Hey watch it!" a turian shouts at me as he flings his hand in the air.

"Holy shit!" I whisper as my hand gingerly touches my mouth. "You're a turian!" I hesitantly reach out to touch his face and he quickly twitches away from my yearning hand.

"Get away from me." He snarls as he walks away. "Humans…" I hear him mutter as he rounds a corner.

Mack, Waiter, and Jase walk up and I turn around to see the three of them staring at me with baffled expressions painted on their faces.

"What the hell was that?" Waiter asks as he shakes his head. I ponder my answer as the three stare at me, after a lengthy pause I finally sigh and run my hand up my face.

"No idea, I… I've never seen a turian before." I say as I continue to gaze around at the wonders of the Citadel.

"So you touch his face?" Mack asks with a scrunched face. "What is wrong with you?"

"What? I can't touch people's faces?" I shout defiantly as I swing my arms in the air.

"No." Waiter remarks as he slowly shakes his head. "No you can not."

"This is bullshit." I pout as I kick at the ground. The group laughs as we stand around awkwardly, waiting for someone to break the silence.

"Well." Waiter starts. "We are headed down to Flux so… I guess we will see you later."

"Yeah, I'll keep in touch." I say as I wave my Omni-tool at them. Mack, Jase, and Waiter wave and shout their goodbyes as I break away from them. I look around for one of those annoying VI info terminals. I quickly find one, but I don't talk to it, I just download a map of the Citadel onto my Omni-tool and head off. I hated talking to that thing in the game so I can't imagine how bad it'd be in person.

Ok so there is an employment center right in Zakera ward, they should be able to help me find a job. It's only a twenty minute walk away from where I am now so I guess I better start walking.

[Walking might actually do you some good.]

…

What is your problem?

_{He is just grumpy. Don't listen to him, you look great!}_

Do you two even have a purpose? You know, other than to slowly drive me insane? Every other fanfic I've read has some sort of guide or spirit animal or some shit, like death or some inter dimensional traveler. You two fuckwads on the other hands have done absolutely nothing! You just sit up there in my head and coddle me or mock me.

[You want to just tell you everything you fucking pansy?]

_{Don't you think it would be more rewarding to figure it out on your own?}_

Yeah, maybe. I… I just don't know why I'm here.

[Who cares about the why? You know more about what's going to happen than anybody else in this shitty universe.]

_{You are here for a reason, and that is to help people.}_

[No matter what it takes.]

So it's up to me? Bullshit! Everything ends relatively well in Mass Effect 3, nobody needs me here! And what about the canon? Everything could change just because of the slightest thing, it's fragile!

[Because there are people in this shithole universe who will fuck everything up.]

_{It's up to you to try to make the best possible outcome, and prepare for the worst.}_

This… is a lot for just me to do by myself and there are tons of people in Mass Effect who try to fuck with Shepard. But you think I can do all that by myself?

_{You aren't alone!}_

Yeah, you two are here.

[Among other things you dense prick.]

Yeah, Shepard and his crew… or her crew. I wonder if Shepard's a man or a woman, either way I hope it's the default Shepard.

"Excuse me, sir?" I blink and shake my head to see a uniformed asari quizzically looking at me. I look around and see a bunch of people talking to other uniformed asari and a few humans.

"Umm yeah?" I ask, not quite sure where I have wandered off to.

"How can I help you?"

"I don't know." I say slowly while leaning forward on the counter.

"Do you need help finding a job?" she asks, fishing for an answer.

"Yeah!" I exclaim, scaring the asari, this must be the employment center. "Can you help me?"

The asari sighs and begins typing in her terminal. "Yes sir, I can help you. What is your name?"

"James Matticks."

After a few keystrokes she looks up at me with a slightly concerned look on her face. "Mr. Matticks, do you have any discernable skills? I don't have any records of past employment in your file, in fact this was made less than 24 hours ago."

"I know, I was picked up by the SSV Expedition, they treated me for my… injuries and brought me here from Freedoms Progress." I explain to the asari.

"I see, well I have some good news Mr. Matticks." She says through a warm smile. "There are several entry level positions open right now on Zakera and hundreds more around the rest of the Citadel."

"Perfect!" I smile. "The work doesn't matter as much as the pay."

"Ok." she says slowly as she plays with her terminal. "Here I have a kitchen staff position which is full time, and pays 14 credits an hour. How does that sound?"

…

That's nowhere near enough money! That would take me years to pay off my bills, probably closer to a decade. I guess I have no choice though, there isn't much else I can do.

"That sounds great." I say as I force a smile. "What do I need to do?"

"Well most people apply via the extranet, but some have gone to the location and applied directly. I would suggest the latter."

"How many people have applied to this job?" I ask suspiciously.

"547 via the extranet and 92 have chosen to be direct."

…

Goddamnit.

"Thanks." I moan as I walk out of the building. My Omni-tool pings with the location of the job and I head off in that direction.

* * *

Well that went better than I thought. I open the door to the restaurant and walk into the bustling streets. Ah who am I kidding, that job sucked. Just a bunch of cleaning and menial tasks, shit I swore off when I got a real job, a job where you build something. With your hands! Like a man! Not sitting around mopping, doing dishes, and taking pushy peoples orders!

I might never pay off this debt. That means I won't be able to join Shepard on the Normandy, I'll be stuck here paying off bills. That's really depressing.

I look down a side alley and see a familiar sight, the Chora's Den sultry asari neon sign. I start to walk up the path, stopping by the door and lean on the railing as I realize I can't afford a drink. I watch the skycars land underneath the walkway and the people get out and trudge up the path to their inevitable hangover. Strange, I never noticed that little path leading from the port to the Den. I hear a door open and raise my brow as I see some poor drunk asshole get tossed out on his face by a tattooed bouncer.

"Jay hoo muggerfugger!" he slurs as he stumbles to his feet. "Ib cuja fuggen bahws agg ooh bidch."

I can't help but smile as I turn to the side and lean on my left arm so I can get a better view of this idiot. The bouncer has an unamused look on his face as he sighs at the drunk.

"_Mudak._" He mutters as he buries his head in his hand. Wow, a Russian with a shaved head, and tattoos, way to be a stereotype Ivan. "Look, you have to stop doing this, you do this every week. So if you don't get out of here right now, and _stay_ out, I _will_ beat you within an inch of your life." He says in a tone that makes me think that's not just an empty threat. I laugh as I see the wheels turning in his head, trying to decide whether or not to fight the bouncer, I'm surprised there's no smoke coming out of his ears.

Suddenly he looks at me as he hears me laugh and a sloppy scowl smears itself across his unshaven face.

"Whah joo lagen ab? Hugh!? Joonoh whah?" he says as he reaches into his pocket. I see the bouncer tense up as he begins to slip his hand behind his back. I can feel a tingle as my barriers manifest but I don't move. I'm not giving him the satisfaction of making me squirm even if he won't remember it. Then he pulls out what looks like a Swiss army knife and fumbles around with it for a while before folding out the "blade". He then points the metal Popsicle stick at me and makes probably the smuggest face I have ever seen any human being make in my entire life. Let's fix that shall we?

"What's that?" I say, carefully laying my verbal bait. The man's face twists and somehow appears smugger then before. Seriously, this guy is radiating smugness.

"Ib a ngiph!" he jeers at me. Alright time tear this assholes world to the fucking ground in the most fitting way possible.

"That's not a knife…" I snort as I step forward and reach behind my back. "…This is a knife."

With a slow, deliberate pull I unsheathe my kukri. In a fluid motion I twirl the deadly blade in my hand and grip my hand firmly around the handle, I raise my brow as I inspect the knife I'm holding at the drunk. I take a mental picture as I watch the man look at the 16" blade in my hand, he then looks back at his Swiss army knife, his face straightens out and he just walks away. Not as climactic as I wanted but it was absolutely awesome to say that when you actually pull out a bigger knife then the other guy.

I turn back to the bouncer to see him smirking at me while I return my kukri to its home. He simply nods his head back at the bar inviting me in. I shake my head at the offer and curse myself for having no money to buy booze.

"Have one on me." He says as he stands to the side of the door and motions me inside. "It is the least I can do for you getting rid of that guy."

How can I say no to that?

"Sure." I say as I walk past him and into the Den. Just to let you know, this place is way seedier in real life then in the game. The dancers up on the stage are basked in dirty blue light, the whole place reeks of liquor and is packed to the gills with people. Most of them are human with a handful of turians and one krogan, though I'm pretty sure he is a bouncer because he is now chatting with my new tattooed friend. I walk up to the bar and a pretty girl with blonde hair looks up and smiles at me.

"You Dundee?" she asks. How did she… I look over my shoulder and see my bouncer friend shoot me a quick nod. I shoot him a two fingered wave and turn back to the bartender. I'm surprised he even knew that quote but then again that movie is a classic.

"The one and only." I say as I smile. "I was told you're the person to talk to for a drink?"

"The one and only." She says as she slides me what appears to be a space beer. It's in one of those weird Mass Effect chrome cylinder cups, with a colored stripe running up the side. I pick up the cup and inspect it, sloshing around the drink and giving it a sniff. Smells ok, like any other beer really. Tastes… good actually, like a fruity Guinness, but thinner.

After I finish my space Guinness I stand up and start pushing my way through the crowded club, giving a small wave to the bouncer but he seems preoccupied as he talks to a turian with white face paint. I pay it no mind though and leave the club. Wow it was loud in that club, I jam my fingers in my ears and try to shake out the ringing noise. I notice that the lights are still on and I check my Omni-tool for the time, ahh it's getting kinda late, I suppose I should look for some sort of shelter to sleep at.

I turn down an alley and begin to walk towards the next street, according to the extranet there should be a shelter at the end of it. Once I'm out of the alley I notice there are almost no humans, or any other races for that matter. Just a shitload of batarians, it looks like a bustling 3rd world country out here. Nothing horrible mind you, just like a busy market with people selling meats and fruits. Everyone seems to be giving me dirty looks but then I remember that all batarians are racist.

Is that racist?

Is it racist to not like racists?

Ahh never mind. Either way these dirty look prove my point. I see the shelter in the distance and quicken my pace to get away from the barrage of glares. Then I hear a shout and see movement out of the corner of my eye, I turn to see a well-dressed human man huddled on the ground and three batarians are crowded around him aggressively. Shit I think they're mugging him.

Not a fucking chance.

I slowly creep down the alley and behind the batarians, I can hear them mocking the poor man.

"Transfer the money now human." One of the batarians yells at him as the others jeer at the poor guy.

"Hey!" I shout as I stand broadly, trying to be as menacing as I can. "Leave him alone."

The three batarians turn and look at me like I'm a joke. They exchanged amused glances and the leader steps forward and scoffs at me. I can feel the anger building in the pit of my stomach.

"You gotta problem?" he says as he leans forward. "_Human._" He spits in disgust.

"No." I say as I step closer to him. I feel the anger course through my body and can feel my biotics crackle off my skin in violent pulses. I push my face towards his and stop a few inches from his head. I look down at him, my biotics reflecting off of his wide eyes, and I whisper, "_You_ do."

I nod my head behind me and the three of them hurry past me as a smirk creeps on my lips. That's right fuckers, get out of here while you can. I walk up to the man who is looking up at me as if I'm an angle sent from heaven.

"Are you ok?" I say as I reach my hand down to help him up. As he reaches up I hear footsteps behind me and the sound of a weapon unfolding. I felt my barriers kick in the second I heard the footsteps, like a paranoid flinch. I turn to see assholes from before and about ten pf their friends, they got here fast. The leader with the gun steps forward and shoots me a satisfied smirk.

"Now who has the problem?" the leader sneers as his merry band chuckles behind him.

My biotics flare again is I feel the rush of adrenaline course through my body, I can't help but put on an evil smirk as I watch the thugs flinch.

"It's still you."

I feel my heart rate accelerate and a tingle tears across my body. In a flash I charge at the leader and plant my shoulder into his chest, I feel it resist for a fraction of a second before it gives out and his ribcage caves in on itself. He takes in a labored gasp as he falls to the floor and I turn and smack away the four batarians with a biotic pulse, the furthest ones are forced to the ground while the closest get flung away like ragdolls. I can already feel myself getting tired, I need to get rid of the other ones fast before I pass out. I follow through with my backhand and launch myself at the last group, slamming my hand on the ground in between them causing a nova to detonate, sending the last batarians in all directions.

I look around as I pant, noting it's nowhere near as exhausting as last time though I did use the same moves, the bodies are littered about the alleyway. I walk up to the leader who is breathing heavily as he clutches his chest, I stand over him, watching him struggle.

[Hurry up and kill him.]

_{You need to help him, he is hurt!}_

[He would have killed you without a second thought, don't give him the courtesy of mercy.]

I can't kill him!

[Do it, don't be a bitch! He was weak!]

_{Which means he needs you, don't do something you will regret!}_

No, I won't kill him.

I lean down and I can see the fear in his eyes as I hunch over him, I bring up my Omni-tool and search the term Medi-gel. I find that my Omni-tool has two applications of Medi-gel, heh I guess Waiter forgot to take everything off. I quickly read through the instructions and hold my Omni-tool over his chest, a little display lights up, acknowledging there is an injury, and with a wave of my hand the application applies to the wound.

The batarian takes in a desperate breath and starts to relax. Suddenly I hear more footsteps behind me and here someone shout.

"C-Sec! Don't move!" the officer shouts. I slowly raise my hands and stand up to face the officer, it's a turian and there is an asari standing behind him. "Sir, are you ok?" he shouts as he raises his hand at the suited man who is still crouched on the floor.

"He is now." I say as I lower my hands and walk towards the man to help him up.

"Don't move!" the asari shouts at me as she levels he pistol sights with my chest. I stop and raise my hands again, why are they yelling at me I saved this guy!

"No." the man stammers. "He saved me." Damn right I saved you! I raise my brow at the asari and she nods at me and holsters her pistol. I walk over to the man and hoist him up to his feet. "Thank you!" he stutters as he shakes my hand. I smile at him as he continues to shake my arm out of my socket. "Thank you so much!"

"Don't worry about it." I say as I watch the C-Sec officers check the bodies, most of them are moving so they should be fine. "Are you sure you're ok?"

"Yeah I will be fine." He says as he pats some dust off of his jacket. "I can't begin to think of how I can repay you. Where are you headed?" he asks as he watches the offices start to cuff some of the more active batarians.

I shrug as I run my fingers through the hair poking out of my hat and look around. "There." I say as I point to the shelter. The man looks at me and then at the shelter, then back to me.

"A shelter?" he asks.

"Yeah, until I can get a job." I say. "Until then I guess I'll just run around and fight crime." I laugh.

"Well first of, I need your name." he says as he extends his hand again.

"James Matticks." I say as I clasp my hand around his and give it a firm shake.

"Frank Haynes, it's a pleasure." He smiles. "And secondly, I have a business proposition for you." He wraps his arm around my shoulder and begins to lead me out of the alleyway. "Can we go?" he yells to the C-Sec officers. That asari jogs up and scans our Omni-tools with her own, I watch her look at it for a moment and then she looks up from our Omni-tool.

"Yes." She says as her Omni-tool fades. "We will summon you via Omni-tool when we need you for questioning. We are going to start with these people first, they're a known gang in this area so it will be a few days. Take care." She says as she walks back to her partner

"Let's get some food in you and then we will talk." He says as he leads me to a rapid transit terminal. "I know a quiet little café on the presidium."

* * *

"So." I say as I eye the cafés menu. "What's good here? I'm kinda new to the Citadel." I look up from the datapad to see Frank smile as he puts down his menu. He looks up at the waitress and smiles at her.

"Two of the usual sweetheart." He turns back to me as the waitress saunters off with our order. "Now tell me about yourself, more specifically your biotic ability."

"Yeah sure." I say as I lean back a bit in my chair. "Well I grew up on… Freedoms Progress… way out in the… uh, terminus. Some slavers attacked the colony and I was taken with hundreds of other colonist, I managed to get out of my ropes and made my way to the engine room. Once I got there the engine went critical and filled the room with eezo, somehow I survived thanks to the SSV Expedition and its medical staff. Then they promptly put me into crippling debt and dropped me of here."

"Wow." He says as he leans forward. "So you have only had biotics for a few days then? When did you get your amp put in?"

The waitress walks back and drops some sort of fancy looking meat and pepper filled sandwich and a coffee in front of each of us. It looks so good, the meat is overflowing from the thick bread with sauce just barely hanging on to the pepper things. Then the smell of coffee begins is assault on my nostrils. I slowly pick up the coffee like it's the Holy Grail and carefully pour the hot liquid into my mouth.

Oh man. Space coffee is so good.

I look up and see Frank staring at me, did he ask me something? Oh yeah, amp.

"I never got an amp." I say as I pick up the sandwich.

"What!" Frank shouts, attracting the attention of the whole café and more importantly, almost making me drop my sandwich. "But you… the thugs… with the charge and… how?"

"There was a lot of eezo in that engine, I was covered in that shit when I woke up after the explosion." I say as I jam as much of the sandwich in my mouth as I can. God it is so good! Some sauce drips out of the other end and onto the plate but its only there for a moment before I mop it up with the sandwich and take another bite. "So you mentioned a business opportunity?"

"So if you had an amp…" he thinks aloud, seemingly ignoring my question. "…your biotics could get stronger?"

Hmm, that's a good question.

"Maybe, regular biotics get a power boost from them, why wouldn't I?" I say as I try to decide between eating the last bit of my sandwich in two bites and trying to cram the whole thing in my mouth.

I go with cram.

"Really?" Frank says as he watches me swallow the huge amount of food in my mouth. "You don't seem to be bothered by appearances James." he points at my jacket and my hat.

"Hey, this is retro Frank." I say as I feign insult. "And let me give you a tip, real words to live by." I lean forward as if to tell him a secret and he leans in to hear. "Life is too short, to give a fuck. Do what you want to, when you want to, and if people don't like it then they can fuck off. Be yourself 24/7 and nothing else." I lean back with a satisfied smirk.

"That's actually not a bad way to look at things I suppose." He admits as he leans back in his chair. "Anyway I have one more question, how far are you in debt?"

"Frank I couldn't ask you to pay of my debts for saving you, I pay my own way in that regard." I tell him while I wave him off with my hand. "I appreciate it but this is my problem, not yours."

"I like that." He exclaims as he waves down the waitress. "But I still owe you more than a sandwich and a coffee, so let me ask you something. How would you like a job?"

"I'd love a job! What do you have for me?" I say as I lean forward.

"I run a shipping company that takes in goods and exports them all around the Citadel and now we have started to branch out into council space." He explains as he pays our bill. "I recently just opened another port in the wards but my Forklift operator wrecked my 250,000 credit electric forklift. Needless to say he has been fired, and I'm out an operator."

"I see so you need a new operator, I can do that." I tell him as I take another gulp of my coffee. "I have industrial experience so I'm used to factory work."

"See here is the kicker." He smiles at me in a way that is honestly, unsettling. "You can lift things with your biotics right?"

"I can learn, I learned everything else almost instantly." I shrug.

"Well I'll tell you what, I don't want to buy a new forklift. So what I'm thinking is I pay you what it would cost me for an operator and the hourly cost of running the forklift."

"That sounds… good but I have to tell you, I just got my biotics so if I use them too much I get pretty tired." I say slowly so Frank gets the point.

"That's fine!" he says happily, ignoring my warning. "I can get you energy drinks, water, food, whatever you need to work."

"Ok, it might take me a while to get going but I'll only get more conditioned the more I work, so I have that going for me. Plus I could use the practice." I say more to myself then him. This is perfect! Money and biotic conditioning, it's a win-win. "What's my starting wage?"

"Well, starting operator wage is 28 credits and hour, with a nine hour day, five days a week." He tells me as he clasps his hand together on the table. "And It costs me just over 100 creds an hour for the lifts power needs, so how about this. I pay you 75 credits an hour for the first two weeks, I'll use the extra money I save to get you a good amp. After that you'll make 100 an hour until you match the lifts efficiency, once you're as good as the lift I'll pay you 125 credits an hour."

"So let me get this straight." I say shaking my head slightly as I sit up. "You're going to pay me those wages, get me an amp, and the chance to train my biotics?"

"Yes."

I don't even have to think about it.

"You have a deal!"

**A/N: Review Response GO!**

**Zomvee: Thanks man, and don't worry, I won't! ;)**

**Michae1ange1o: Yeah I'm the same way, and what the fuck! A dog ate your eyelid? Jesus Christ! I'm also disappointed there are more Mavericks out there, I'm going to have to do something about that… Oh and if you don't like movies where dogs have to be put down, go watch **_**I Am Legend**_**, it's a pretty decent movie if you can get over the bad CG.**

**CrimsonKnight117: You have good instincts sir!**

**XRaiderV1: Yeah, the best way to learn how to do something is to actually do it!**

**Universal-Public-Cockblocker: Thanks! That's what I was going for when I wrote it!**

**FtDLulz: It's always awesome to be told your SI good! And it fits in bills? Well look at that.**

**NothingVentured: Thanks man, I really self-conscious about mine grammar so it means much thank you. **

**Spiritstrike: Thanks I tried to make it subtle so it wasn't crazy obvious. Really glad you enjoyed the story so far, and no! It wasn't a lame example! I fucking love that movie!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hey guys! This chapter came out super early but once I finished it I couldn't help but put it out. It's a bit shorter than the others but I wouldn't call it a filler chapter either. Enjoy!**

**Chapter 4  
**-Well It Smells-

So after Frank gave me the location of the factory I find it's not that far from the shelter, maybe a half hour of walking. Once I get to the shelter I can't help but notice it's mainly batarians only these ones don't seem to mind I'm there, they have their own problems. The cot they gave me to sleep on felt like it was made of old construction paper that used to be wet and they were out of food.

I also got yelled at for lifting things around, turns out it's not as hard as I thought it'd be. It was like when I was a kid and pretended to be a Jedi, I just stuck out my hand and then thought _I wanna move that_ and there you go. It was weird though, I got tired like I was actually lifting things. It messed with my head for a while. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be though, I actually got to life some pretty big things without getting tired. After a while though, it got kind of difficult.

Now I'm on my way to the factory. The streets are packed once again, I have yet to see a street that doesn't have people on it. I look of to my left as my Omni-tool beeps letting me know I have reached my destination. Wow, this place is pretty big, I wonder how many people work here. I walk in the door and am greeted by a cute asari receptionist. No, like, really cute. She's a smooth shade of royal blue with big bright blue eyes, her face is a bit shorter with angled features with an warm smile.

Like I said, she's really cute.

I walk up and place my hands on the desk drawing her attention. She looks back to her terminal for half a second and then looks up at me with a cheery smile.

"Welcome to Haynes Shipping, how may I help you?"

"Hey, my name's James Matticks, I'm here to see Frank." I tell her as I toss my hands in my pockets and look around the small foyer. I look back at her and for a moment she seems… uneasy, then she puts back on that glowing smile and checks her terminal.

"Yes, Mr. Haynes is expecting you." She says. "He is just in a call right now, he should be with you in a couple minutes."

"Thanks." I say as I step back from the desk. I look at the ceiling awkwardly as me and the asari sit in silence, I can't stand it. I walk back to the desk and lean on it and get the asari's attention again. "So, how it going?"

She looks at me for a moment before answering. "I'm ok, how are you?"

"I'm fantastic, so what's your name?" I ask.

"Aila Nadeous."

"Hey Aila, it's nice to meet you. So, what do you do around here?"

"I manage this warehouse." She tells me. "Anything from wages to orders, I run everything."

"Jesus Christ." I say in awe. "That's a lot of shit for one person to do, I'm impressed."

"Thanks!" She smiles up at me. "So why are you here to see Mr. Haynes?" she asks as she begins to multitask on her terminal.

"I'm here for a job."

She stops typing and stares blankly at the screen. Her eyes flicker down for a moment and then look to me. "Why?"

That's a weird question. "I need the money and training." I admit.

"How badly do you need the money?" she asks, she seems very concerned.

"Honestly pretty bad, I need this job no matter what it throws at me. I don't have any other options." I admit. She looks like she is about to say something and then stops herself when she looks at me, she takes another pause and then smiles at me again.

"What do you need training with?" she asks.

"Biotics." I nod. "I'm going to be the first human forklift." I smirk. She smiles at that and shakes her head. Suddenly I hear a door open to my left and I turn to see Frank smiling as he walks towards me.

"James!" he exclaims as he extends his hand. "How's your morning been?"

"I can't complain Frank." I smile as I grip his hand in mine. "Nice place you have here, care to take me on a tour?"

"You've got it." He laughs as he leads me to a door. "First stop is my office, nothing serious, just signing some paperwork. After that there's nothing much to see, just the factory floor and the employees."

"Alright let's get the paperwork out of the way." I say as the door swings open, revealing a beautiful office. Clean white carpets with slate grey walls with a burnt orange feature wall that's behind a huge modern desk. It's pretty simplistic but it looks nice. Frank quickly sits down at his desk and motions me to sit in the chair. After I do my Omni-tool beeps and I activate it to see I have been forwarded a document. Holy shit this "document" is my contract and it is over 200 fucking pages!

"Jesus Frank, this is a lot of stuff." I exclaim as I start scrolling through the pages as fast as I can to get to the end. It's worse than the goddamn iTunes thing.

"It's normally less than half of that but due to the biotics it's almost all safety and other bullshit." He says as he opens his drawer and pulls out two scotch glasses and a bottle of…

"Is that Johnnie Walker?" I ask in awe. Shit I didn't think that'd be around anymore, that's some of the best liquor you can get!

"Blue Label." He whispers through a smile as he pour us two fingers each, neat of course, we're not pansy's.

"Nectar of the gods." I say as we clink glasses. I take a sip and a warm burn slides down my throat, hints of nuts, fruits, and leather earth tone peak in my mouth. God that the stuff. I place my glass down and finally hit the bottom of the document and promptly sign it and send it to Frank.

We talk about some of the companies that ship to the warehouse for about half an hour before we finish our scotch and then head back into the foyer. I wave at Aila as we walk through another door that leads to a huge factory floor. It looks incredibly similar to the warehouse in Garrus's loyalty mission, just a giant see of platforms and crates with a ceiling crane moving larger crates. It's also about four times as big, how did I not notice how big the building was from the outside? I mean, I knew it was big but this is crazy!

"So how many people work here?"

"I have four people working for me who are overqualified, staggeringly so." He admits as he leads me down a pathway sectioned of by cautionary lines on the floor.

"If they're over qualified why do they work here?" I say as I watch the cranes drop of huge 20'x20' pallets of crates. "They owe you favors?" I chuckle.

"More then you realize." He shrugs. "They are some of the most hardworking and specialized people I could find. And here's one of them!"

I look to my right to see a short, well-dressed man with a jet black short beard and styled faux hawk. The guy walks with a confident swagger but at the same time it's friendly and enthusiastic. He's like a young Frank Sinatra with a modern style.

"Hey Frankie!" he shouts as he walks up with his arms open, he quickly gives Frank a hand shake and turns his infectious attitude towards me. "Hey how are you? My name is Greg Broadway, charmed."

"Hey Greg" I say as I shake his hand. "James Matticks, and I'm doing pretty good man. You?"

"I'm doing great James." He says as he pats my shoulder. "We can talk later, I've gotta make Frankie here a richer man!" he says as he turn back to Frank. "I've got Armali Council on the ropes boss, I'll see you in a few hours!" he gives Frank a gentle punch on the shoulder before he walks out, I hear him start to talk to Aila before the door closes.

"He's quite the guy." I say as I turn back to Frank. "What does he do here?"

"He is in charge of sales." Frank says as he looks out on the sea of inventory. "Without him half of this product wouldn't be here right now. He goes out and makes companies move their goods through us instead of the competition. He is damn good at his job."

As we walk I see one of those hover cranes on the ground with somebody hunched under it looking through a nest of wires. Suddenly the crane makes a loud blaring alarm as it sparks to life and lifts away to join the others in moving crates around. The person is left standing there watching the lift take off, salarian actually.

I've never seen a salarian with his coloring before, he's a slate gray with dark purple markings under his chin and on his cheekbones. He looks pretty shy, kinda hunched over and nervous.

"This is our engineer, he keeps every single machine in this building in operation, from light fixtures to skytrucks!" Frank says as we walk over to the salarian.

"Hey man, my name's James Matticks." I extend my hand. The salarian blinks and looks at my hand for a moment until he hesitantly shakes it. Jesus it feels weird shaking a salarian's hand, those lanky ass fingers of his.

"Saylem Jodin." He says quietly and then just walks off without saying another word. Frank and I watch as he reaches over and grabs a slow, low flying hover crane and is whisked away to the other end of the warehouse.

"Quite guy." I mention as we keep moving.

"Yeah but the kids a genius, I've only found one thing he can't fix."

"Forklift?" I smirk at him.

"Yup, he tried though. After about three hour of work he finally said it couldn't be done and honestly, I believed him. Hell you could give him a broken bottle and he could put the thing back together with string."

"I'd like to see that." I muse as we walk towards a small shed. Frank opens the door and I see a layout of the entire factory. It doesn't take long to see this is a huge interface use to control all of the cranes, like a big RTS game. I notice a turian is leaning back in a chair stand up, he meets me at eye level probably a bit taller. He has dark brown skin, plates, whatever, with bright cyan markings on his mandibles and his two middle fringe spikes are completely painted too. He looks pretty badass!

"And last but not least, this is Pakiev Kratest. He is our floor manager, you'll be working with him directly."

"Hello, it's nice to meet you." He says in an ice cold flanged voice. "I have the pleasure of coordinating all of the cranes."

"Sounds like a tough gig." I say as I hold out my hand. "James Matticks." He reaches out and grips my hand with his talons, not as bad as Saylems but still weird.

"If you will excuse me, I have to make sure Saylem doesn't get killed on the hover cranes." He says as he sits back in his chair and flicks a control, I hear the radio crackle and Saylem say "Stop it." making Pakiev lightly chuckles as the door closes.

We walk away and move up a small ramp that leads to what looks like a docking bay, it actually reminds me of my job back home.

…

The job I'll never work again. I won't see anything from my old life_ ever _again, my family, my friends, everything. No more pub night with the guys, no family gatherings, no more hunting trips. No Brody…

"This is the first area you will be working, this is incoming processing." Frank speaks up, snapping me out of my depressed train of thought.

"What uhh, what do I need to do?" I ask trying to shake it off.

"All you have to do is move these pallets of product out of processing and onto this platform here." He point to a huge 20'x20' pallet and then points to one of those big platforms that lifts up and down.

"That's it?" I ask as I eye the huge pallet.

"Yeah, once it's in this area here, the hover cranes will separate the goods and group orders together. All you have to do is move the pallet sixty feet, think you can do that?"

"Yeah." I say, not really sure if I mean it or not. "Just put the fridge full of the drinks and food over here and I should be fine."

"Ok and I'll put one at outgoing processing." He says as he points to the other end of the warehouse.

"I'm sorry, what?" I ask.

"After every hour, you move down to outgoing and send order pallets back out. You start with outgoing and then after an hour switch to incoming, and so on for nine hours." He says like it's no big deal.

"Huh." I say. "How many pallets do I move an hour?"

"It takes 60 seconds for a new pallet to get down here so in theory the quicker you move out the first one the bigger mini break you get!" he says as he pats my shoulder.

"Oh yeah, great." I mutter. "When do I start?"

Frank looks at his Omni-tool and then glances around the warehouse. "Well todays Friday so it is slow today, most of our major clients don't ship to us today, just a lot of our family businesses. Anyway report to Pakiev and he will direct you what to do and open up a com link for you."

"Ok see you later Frank." I wave to him as he leaves. I stand around awkwardly waiting for something to happen when one of the hover cranes parks itself next to me and Saylem is hanging off of it.

"Get on." He says quietly as he shifts so I can grab on to the bar.

"You're a mad man Saylem." I joke as I grab on to the hover crane and it lurches away. Like I thought, Saylem didn't react to my joke and kept quiet the whole ride. The ride actually wasn't bad at all, I loved it actually but I love rollercoasters too so that might be a factor. Once we get closer to the other end of the warehouse I can see Pakiev standing by the outgoing bay doors, leaning on a wall staring at his Omni-tool.

The hover crane slows down enough for me to hop of, I look back to see Saylem stayed on the now flying away h-crane. I strut towards Pakiev and his Omni-tool fades and he looks up at me.

"Matticks." Pakiev says as I walk up. "You ready? I loaded up the heavier ones first so it gets easier as you go."

"Ok cool." I say as I look at the bay door. "Call me Maverick by the way, or Mav, whichever."

"You humans and your nicknames." Pakiev sighs as he shakes his head. "That's something I'll never understand."

"Why not?" I ask. "It's just fun I guess, it's a sign of comradery." I try to explain.

"And here I thought it was just Broadway, he said the same thing." He explains as a noise comes from the loading bay.

"Why what does Broadway say?" I ask curiously.

"He calls me Pac-man." Pakiev sighs. "Or just Pac."

"Pac eh?" I say rub my chin. "I like that."

"Of course you do." Pac says as his mandibles click. "Have fun." He says as he walks away. I turn to see a pallet that is FULL of crates, all stacked about twelve feet high.

"Yeah, tons of fun." I say as I walk up to the pallet. Ok, let's do this. I rub my hands together and my biotics start to swirl around my hands, I still haven't gotten used to the biotics just showing up when I need them. There are no hand signals or secret phrases, they just know. It's creepy. I let out a sigh and I fell my hands start to tingle and the pallet starts to glow with wisps of blue.

Shit its heavy. I manage to lift it slightly off the ground but I can already feel my muscles straining. I start to grunt as I slowly move the pallet towards the dock, inching its way off of the platform. Fuck this, this is too slow. I let out a huge grunt as every muscle strains in my body as I quickly push the pallet into the dock, the pallet hitting the ground for the last couple feet and filling my ears with a scraping noise.

The second it's completely in the bay I fall to my knees and then turn over onto my back, I'm breathing heavily as I rip pf my hat and jacket. Fuck it the shirt comes off to, anything to cool down. In retrospect I _probably_ should have taken of my hat and jacket in the first place but hey, hindsight is 20/20.

"That want so bad." I hear Pac say from overtop pf me. I peel open my eyes as see Pac staring down at me with what I assume is a turian smirk, Saylem is there too.

"I told you he wasn't dead." Saylem mutters to Pac as he walks away.

"It was a joke Saylem." Pac explains as Saylem grabs on to another h-crane. Pac leans over and extends his talon. I reach out and clamp on his hand and he pulls me off the ground. "Do humans normally undress when they are tired?" he asks as he looks at the pile of clothes on the ground.

"Sometimes." I pant as I look at the next pallet rising up to be put in the dock. Luckily it's less than half the size of the first one and if Pac wasn't lying about the order he put them in, I might actually be fine.

"Are you, wet?" he says as he wipes his claw on his shirt.

"It's called sweat." I tell him as I move my clothes out of the way and next to the door. "When humans get tired and overheat sweat comes out of our skin. Keeps us cool." I line up the next crate and am relieved that it is lighter than the last as I lift it from the ground.

"Well it smells." He says as he walks away. "Hurry up, the next ones already on its way." He shouts at he grabs on to an h-crane.

After some struggling I lift the next pallet into the dock and plant my hands on my knees and start taking in deep breaths. I hear the next platform rising up and the door to the foyer open. I see Aila walking up to me with an armful of assorted bottles. I look at the pallet and guess I have about fifteen seconds before the next one comes up so I jog over to Aila and quickly scoop up the bottles.

"Thanks!" I say as I start to open a random bottle.

"Don't you want to know what they are?" she asks as she watches me toss the rest of the bottles onto my pile of clothes.

"Doesn't matter." I say as I quickly guzzle down whatever is in this bottle. It tastes like some sort of fruit, it's tart yet sweet at the same time and it's fizzy like pop.

"Any reason you're not wearing a shirt?" she asks as I cap the bottle and toss it with the rest.

"Thought you'd be getting bored at your desk so I decided to put on a show." I joke as is look at the next pallet with a loathing glare.

"You're not my type!" she giggles as she walks away.

"Yeah I've been getting that a lot lately." I mutter as I start to move the next pallet.

After an hour of moving pallets they started to get a lot easier and by the end I was able to keep up. Barely though, I managed to drink half of the drinks Aila gave me.

" _-Hey-_" a voice cracks through my Omni-tool, scaring the shit out of me. I feel my barrier kick in the second I hear the voice but it goes away when I realize its Pac.

"What?" I bark into my Omni-tool.

"_-Lets go, get down to incoming.-_" he orders, then my Omni-tool fades and then an h-crane appears from thin air. I quickly walk over and scoop up my drinks with my clothes and hop on the h-crane and take off to incoming. I enjoy the cool breeze on the ride for roughly thirty seconds before I land by incoming. I quickly toss my stuff to the side and watch the docking platform lower down to reveal a pallet that rivals the first one.

Great.

* * *

Everything was going better than I thought, until I started to get really tired. By the end it took me about three minutes to move the heavier pallets and just over a minute to do the smaller ones. By the last pallet I am as tired as I was after fighting Mack! So I'm lying there on the ground, you know, dying and stuff.

I hear Broadway come in and out of the warehouse, from the sounds of it he got that company to run through us. He comes up to me and asks how I'm feeling and then brings me some water which was nice of him. I hear someone walk out of the warehouse, I'm assuming it was Saylem because they didn't say anything. Pac come up and tells me to stop sweating on the floor and then leaves.

I'm lying on the floor and I can sense someone standing over me. I force my eyes open again and see Frank looking down at me with a datapad in his hand.

"Hey." I murmur as I take in a few more breaths.

"James, just the person I was looking for." He says as he glances at the datapad in his hand. "Pakiev says you did better than expected and I'll be honest, you did a lot better than I thought."

"Thanks for having faith in me Frank." I mutter through a smile. "I started to slow at the end, I'll make it up to you."

"Yes." He tells me. "You cost me 63,506 credits today Matticks."

Oh shit. "Frank, I'm sorry. I promise I will be faster tomorrow and hey, soon I'll be saving you money eh?"

"Yes." He says as he circles me. "Until that day comes, any money you cost me will be docked from your pay."

"What?" I say, my eyes now opening wide. I can't even begin to pay that off! "We never talk about this!"

"No, hell you didn't even read about it did you?" he smirks at me. "Also your pay today was 200 credits, well, my pay that is."

"200? You said 75 an hour! I've been here all fucking day!" I try to yell but it's barely as loud as my regular speaking voice. Frank bends down and gets right up to my face.

"It's not my fault your as stupid as every other has-been in this warehouse." He sneers at me. "You should really read over your contract, it's got you locked in tight Matticks. I _own_ you now, so you better pray you start making me money, or I'll have to get rid of you."

"You fucking… I saved you!" I strain to yell as I try to grab Frank. He simply backs up and starts to walk out of the warehouse.

"See you tomorrow Matticks." He jeers over his shoulder as he leaves the warehouse.

That fucking asshole! I can't believe this, he will ruin everything! How can he do this to me? I saved his sorry ass and this is how he thanks me? Fuck that, I will kill Haynes if I have to. He is not keeping me here when Shepard is running around, going about it the cannon way of things when there is vital stuff I can change for the better!

…

Did I just choose to fuck with cannon? I guess I did… but only for the better. I can't stop things like the Normandy's destruction or the Lazarus project. But I can change little things that might make a difference in the endgame…

"Are you ok?" I hear Aila say, snapping me from my planning.

"No." I deadpan. I start to stir and manage to get to my feet. "I'm not, did you know? Did you know that he would do this."

"In a way." She admits. "I would have stopped you but you said you _needed _this job. How bad was it?"

"My original debt was 500,000 creds, I now owe Haynes 63,000 and probably more tomorrow." I say as I press on my temples with my fingers.

"I know how you feel." She says as she places her hand on my shoulder. "Everyone here was tricked or forced to work for him."

"How could he do this?" I ask as I look at her. "You all seem like smart people, how could he do this to you?"

"Blackmail, threats, anything he could use against us he did." She says as I see a flicker of sadness on her face. "Haynes is a ruthless opportunist, he also knows we have no other options. There's not much we can do except bear with it."

"I… I don't know what to do." I whisper as bury my face in my hand. I feel Aila wrap her arms around me and I return her hug.

"Do you need a place to stay?" she asks as she strokes my back.

"You don't have to if you don't want to, I can just stay at the shelter."

"Its fine, you can stay with me, I have room for you." She says as she pulls out of the hug and smiles at me. "You'll be ok, if we all learned to make the best it, you can too."

"No." I corrected. "I won't make the best of it."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm going to end Haynes reign of terror."

[No matter what it takes.]

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews guys! Leave a review and I shall respond!**

**masterdude94: Happy you found the story man, even happier that you like it. I'm trying to be a bit more vigilant with my grammar but every now and then things slip through. Anyway thanks for reading and I'm glad you liked it.**

**Michae1ange1o: Yes I often get attacked by stray dogs who try to eat my eyes. ;) And you have a keen eye sir, I'll enjoy testing how good it really is…**

**Wolfshark: Thanks man, glad you liked it!**

**XRaiderV1: Oh man, it's great… thanks man!**

**CrimsonKnight117: Haha that's great! I love that quote! And the batarian coming back? Interesting idea, and I'll try! Thanks for reading!**

**Spiritstrike: Yeah I love that movie, they were classics in my household next to Milo and Otis and Hercules! And now I feel bad now that I'm responding to your review, all the stuff you're happy about being solved, well uhh… you know. And thanks for reading!**

**Universal-Public-Cockblocker: A pussy for the rest of the story? Where's the fun in that? Just be patient you fucking savage! ;)**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Ok people, I got another chapter out! I've decided to label the review response R/R instead of A/N because I can and there is nothing you can do about it. The next few chapters are going to focus on Pac, Saylem, Broadway, and Aila. Just things that set up other things, which set up more things, which will set up even more things that will bring other things crashing down in a ball of flames. Oh man I'm getting excited about all of the plans I've made! On a real life note, I saw Amazing Spiderman 2 a few days ago and it blew me away. I am HUGE fan of Spiderman and love the new ones (Probably because Spiderman 3 left a bad taste in my mouth) so if you're fan of superhero movies, go see it! Anyway, hi ho chapter, away!**

**Chapter 5  
**-I Don't Boast-

The walk to Aila's house was surprisingly short, it only took ten minutes to get there. She eventually lead me into a small apartment building and then up to the top floor. The elevator dinged open and to my surprise there was no hallway, it just opened to reveal a huge loft apartment.

"Here we are." Aila welcomed as the apartments lights clicked on. I walked into the loft and glanced around at the place. It's a really nice apartment, modern look with white as a base color and splashes of color in certain areas. Each area had a different set of colors, the kitchen had oranges and reds, the bedroom area had deep blues and purples, the living area had light greens and browns, and I could see into the bathroom door to see a bouquet of yellows.

"Holy shit Aila!" I whisper as I step further into the apartment. "This place is amazing! How could you afford this working for Haynes?"

"Well I didn't lose all of my money when I was forced here." She smirks. "And I make good money, it's the contract that's keeping me there." She says, saddening slightly. "I looked through it for hours and I even had Greg look through it, even he couldn't find anything." She sits down in a chair and starts to lose herself in her thoughts.

"Hey sorry." I say as I sit next to her. "Didn't mean to bring that up."

"No its fine." She reassures me. "Just thinking about what I had."

"I'll get it back for you." I tell her. "I've dealt with people like him, not to this extreme, but still."

"Really?" she asks me, a hint of skepticism on her voice. "When?"

"Well." I start. "Back at my old job I made… excavating machinery. When I first started it was hell, people walking all over me, my first day was probably the worst day of my life." I say as I relax into my chair as Aila listens quietly. "They broke things of mine, what they couldn't break they ruined, they tried to mentally and physically break me. At first I thought they were just picking on the new guy but it just turned into bullying."

"What did you do?" she asks quietly.

"I had enough, so I confronted the, ringleader I guess you could call him, he was actually the supervisor."

"And?"

"I got in his face, intimidated him, threatened him, I told him that if he didn't stop I would smack his eyes right out of his head." I told her.

"Did you?" she asks, leaning forward in anticipation.

"What? No. I… I don't think you can physically do that." I tell her, a little miffed she asked that.

"Oh." She mutters, sounding very disappointed.

"Yeah no, we argued, threatened, and then he took a swing at me." I say, touching my jaw remembering that day. "So I fought back. He lost but got a few good ones in."

"Is that normal for humans to fight so much?" she asks.

"Sometimes." I tell her as I nod my head. "About a thousand years ago we use to have giant stadiums and fight to the death for fun."

"Goddess." She whispers. "Do you still do that on earth?"

"Yeah but it's one on one and in a cage." I shrug "And you're not allowed to kill your opponent but accidents still happened."

"It's so savage." She mutters.

"Yeah but it's exhilarating." I exclaim as I jump from my chair. I start shadow boxing and singing. "_It's the eye of the tiger it's the thrill of the fight! Rising up to the challenge of our rival!_" I stop boxing and see Aila looking and me like I have a third eye.

"Is that an old hymn?" she asks slowly.

"Yeah, sort of." I say as I sit back down. "Anyway, we fought, I won, and turns out I replaced a guy who died on the job only a few days after the accident. We talked it out after that and worked it out, I understand why they were mad and I was the logical place to take out that anger."

"I suppose, its rather childish though." She says as she gets up and heads to the kitchen area. "Most asari would have tried to come to an agreement."

"Pssh, so boring." I joke as I follow her into the kitchen. "Do you, do you think that's what happened to Haynes?"

"What?" she says quietly as she pours herself a drink.

"Maybe something happened to him, I don't know, making him the way he is." I try to reason as I lean on a counter. "Maybe if we talked to him, we could fix this."

"No." Aila responds stoically. "Greg tried to talk to Haynes." She stops and looks right into my eyes. "Greg said that Haynes is a monster, I have never heard him say anything bad about anyone in my entire life."

"Then why was he so friendly to Haynes back in the warehouse?"

"Greg isn't like any human I've ever met, he doesn't hold grudges or cause conflict." She tells me. "He's told me _why burn bridges_? So he makes the best of it, like the rest of us. I keep telling him he would make a better asari then a human!" she smiles. There is a moment of silence before I ask my next question.

"Why do you work for Haynes?"

Aila sighs and then walks me to the living room and seats herself on the couch, I follow her and sit across from her on some weird looking modern chair.

"I grew up on Illium, my first job was to work to counter of some family sporting goods manufacturer. Within three years I moved up the ladder, as you humans say, and quickly began to run the entire company."

"The whole company?" I ask.

"Yes, I loved it!" she says with a glowing smile. "All of the accounting, organizing, just managing every single aspect and micromanaging everything!"

"What happened to the company?"

"Well, when I started it made a yearly profit of 100,000 credits." Now she put on a cocky smirk. "By the time I left the yearly profit was over 600 million credits."

"What!?" I shout. "No fucking way! What the company?"

"Have you ever heard of Nos Astra Sporting Goods?"

"No way!"

"Yup!" she smiles. "Then Haynes contacted me, asking me to work for him. I refused. I thought he had left but instead he went and falsified accounts, making it look like I had been stealing money from the company."

"How did he do that?" I ask

"I don't know, it happened a year after he first asked me to leave." She says as she tilts her head. "He must have spent a fortune on forgers, even I couldn't prove they were false. In the end it didn't matter, he came back with another offer and I had no choice but to take it, no other company would hire me after that. So now I'm here, he took me away from my dream job, my family, my friends, and my home."

I see the tears start to well in her eyes and I walk over and give her a hug. After all I know what that's like, to be ripped away from everyone and everything you know.

"It's ok Aila." I reassure her. "I'll figure something out, I'm pretty good at it."

"Thank you for saying that." She wipes a stray tear off of her cheek. "But you can't stop Haynes, I've tried, we've all tried."

"Well I haven't tried yet." I smile as I tap her chin up. "I don't take shit from anyone."

She smiles, and then composes herself. "So." She starts. "How do you like having biotics? I heard you just recently were exposed which is odd."

"How is that odd?" I ask.

"Most people who are exposed to eezo after they are born don't develop any biotics, they often become very sick and get all sorts of cancerous growths."

"Uhh, they never told me I had cancer so I'm assuming I'm fine."

"Even then though, most people don't develop biotics, and if they do they are nowhere near as powerful as yours!"

"Aila you're going to make me blush." I joke.

"What did you score?" she asks.

"Score what?"

"What is your BP level and FDSR levels?"

"I don't know what you're talking about?" I say as I cock my head.

"You haven't been tested?" she asks in shock.

"Tested for what!?" I shout.

"Let's go." She says as she stands up and walks to the door.

"Go where?" I huff.

"We're getting your biotics tested." She says as her door opens and the apartment lights start to dim.

* * *

We take a quick skycar ride to some sort of biotic testing facility and arrive within thirty minutes. The building looks simple enough and there are a lot more council races hanging around. We walk into the facility and there is a asari receptionist sitting at a desk, she looks right through me and then smiles at Aila.

"Hello how may I help you today?" she says to Aila, almost pretending I'm not here.

"Hi, we're here for a BPL test and a FDSR test."

"Ok we have a slot open right now." She says as she stands from her desk. "Sir if you could just take a seat, the tests should be over in a half hour." She begins to lead Aila away before she stops.

"No the tests aren't for me." Aila tells her as she looks back to me. "They are for him." she point to me and the receptionist narrows her eyes at me.

"Him?" she snorts. What the fuck? How could she possibly know what I'm capable of?

"Yeah me." I say as I step past Aila and up to the receptionist. "Where to?" The asari looks at me for a few seconds and then motions me to follow her. She leads me into what looks like one of those clean white rooms that they test crash cars in.

"Someone will be with you in just a moment." She says as she walks off through the door we came in from. Not even ten seconds later, another asari dressed in a lab coat walk in and looks me up and down.

"So you're here for BPL and FDSR tests?" she asks ash she walks up to me. "I'll be back with some equipment, if you would just remove your shirt and fill out this form we can begin." She quickly leaves the room after handing me a datapad

I walk over to a small table and take off my jacket and shirt and fold them onto the table. I take off my hat and the door opens when I place it on the rest of my clothes. I look up to see the asari wheel a cart full of equipment into the room. I look at the datapad and see it is pretty straight forward, I just enter my name and the datapad finds my id. I hand the datapad to the asari and she looks it over before placing it on the cart.

"Ok, put your arms out to your side." She orders as she taps my arm. I stretch my arms out and she begins scanning my body with her Omni-tool, every time it beeps she stabs some sort of node into my skin. Four minutes and eight nodes later she finally stops her scan. "Ok now follow me."

She leads me to another machine, which I had failed to notice, in the corner of the room. "Please stand here and don't move until I tell you to." I do as she says and she activates the machine.

Two arms drop down and begin to slowly turn around me, a slight whir escaping from it. After a minute it stops and beeps.

"Ok, please flare your biotics if you are able, if not just try to move your clothes from the table over there." She says as she reads the machines data. I comply and flare my biotics, a tingle surging its way across my skin. I start counting in my head and get to 109 when the machine slows to a stop, I look at the asari and she motions me to get out of the machine.

I see her stare at her data pad for what seems like ages, then she looks at me and then back to the datapad. "I'd like to run this test again." She says slowly as she eyes the data. So we do the whole thing again and this time she looks genuinely confused. "We will run this test again before you leave."

"Something wrong?" I ask as I try to sneak a peek at the datapad.

"No, just an anomaly." She tries to convince me. "It should work its way out in the FDSR test."

"So that was the BPL?" I ask. "What was my score?"

"Well don't get your hopes up, but you scored a four with potential of six." She says with slight disbelief.

"Is four good?" I ask. "It doesn't sound very impressive."

"Your current biotic power level or BPL is at four, on par with most asari and specialist of other species. You have the potential to reach six, which is a notch under asari matriarchs. There are under fifteen humans who have reached this level and they were subjected to various experiments and special conditions." She tells me. "This is of course some sort of hardware malfunction, you don't have an amp so this is impossible for a human to achieve, it's already difficult for asari to achieve these levels."

"I wouldn't count me out just yet." I smirk as she leads me to the next test.

"Do you know how to use a warp?" she asks.

"No." I reply. So she shows me and in a few minutes I have a basic warp down.

"Ok please throw a warp at this piece of steel." She says, pointing at a horizontal square steel rod with a set of measurements on the side. I grasp the warp in my hand, its different then my other powers. It feels more refined, before it was a tingling sensation of power but this is like a calm chill. It doesn't gently push and pulsate like a lift or throw, it sort of holds my hand still while gently tugging is inward like it has a desire to consume.

It's unsettling.

I quickly rid my hand of the warp and direct it to the pipe, the orb sails through the air and contacts the steel but it doesn't have any impact. It just slops itself on the pipe and starts to dissolve it. It dissipates within seconds. The asari walks over and reads the measurement on the pipe and looks to me.

"Impressive." She mutters. "This is on par with your average asari, maybe the test wasn't incorrect after all. Next up is the force test."

"Ok what was that test?" I ask as we walk over to a large metal block laying over another set of measurements.

"Discrimination." She says as she positions me in front of the block. "This is force, all you have to do is move this block as far as you can in one biotic push. The average ampless attempt is about five inches."

"Five inches?" I ask in disbelief. "I'll be upset if I don't move it five feet!"

"Please sir." She deadpans. "We try to take these tests seriously and personally I don't enjoy people who boast."

"I don't boast." I tell her as my biotics flare as I face the block.

"You may begin when you're ready." She sighs.

I square up on the block and set my right foot back. I feel the familiar tingle of raw power shoot down my arms. I start building up a yell as I feel my arm explode in energy. I let out the fiercest roar I can as I focus on the block and with the flick of my arm I feel the biotics sink to my fingers and release a loud pulse. I look as the block grinds along the floor and begins to tip, it finally stops and the load echo of its grind phases out, leaving the block teetering on its edge.

I stand up straight and turn to the shocked asari, a smug grin dancing its way across my face. I hear the loud clang of the block correcting itself by slamming into the ground causing the asari to flinch.

"You were saying?" I gloat. The asari doesn't even speak, she just taps away at her datapad with a slacked jaw. I glance over at the block and take a proud note that it passed the seven foot mark. Damn I'm good.

"This next test," she says as she eyes me nervously. "will test your surge and reserves, which in layman's is how much energy you can put out in a set amount of time and your stamina."

"Ok what do I have to do?"

"Just focus as many attacks as you can on this training dummy." She points to what looks like a crash test dummy on a pole. I walk over and ready myself for battle.

"Any type of attack or…"

"Anything you want."

Time to bust out the Maverick special. I wait for her go and immediately charge into the dummy in the blink of an eye, I quickly back step and wind up a back hand. The smack slams against the dummy and actually forces it up the poll a few inches but it's quickly forced down by a nova to the top of the head. I then spend the next two minutes unleashing biotic hell on this poor plastic bastard, until I start to sweat and my muscles strain. It takes another two minutes for me to fall backwards and slam on the floor, quickly forming a puddle of sweat beneath me.

The asari places several bottles of some sort of energy drink next to me and unscrews one, placing it upside down in my mouth and walking away. By the time she gets back I've finished that drink and three more. Ten minutes later I'm all cleaned up and dressed, waiting on the test results.

Just then the asari walks back into the room and brings me a datapad.

"Mr. Matticks I have your test results. The average human biotic scores seven in force, three in discrimination, six in surge, and nine in reserves. This mind you, is with a standard amp. You without and amp have scored seven in force, two in discrimination, six in surge and four in reserves."

"Ok so that's pretty good." I nod my head. "Except for reserves, anyway I can fix that?" I ask.

"There are several amps that are designed for reserve increase while providing a small boost to other areas." She tells me as she makes more notes in her datapad. "These are very expensive though and are mainly used by soldiers and private contractors. They run about 40,000 to 130,000 credits, civilian amp however are almost all under 10,000."

Shit that's still a lot of creds. "Ok then, anything else I need to know?"

"Yes." She says in a serious tone. "Your biotics are unprecedented and considered dangerous on the Citadel. This will elevate your biotic alert status on your id."

"What's that mean?"

"It means you are a higher threat, which means you will be put up on the extranet as potentially dangerous person and you might receive harsher treatment from C-Sec do to the fact that you are basically one giant weapon." She explains. "This will take time to process and will not go live for a few weeks, when it does you will receive an alert via Omni-tool."

"Ok." I cheerily say as I make my way to the door. "Sounds fair enough I suppose." I walk to the exit and Aila is still waiting patiently for me to finish.

"How'd it go?" she asks in anticipation.

"Great!" I smile. "I'm being put on the Citadels most dangerous list!"

Her demeanor quickly becomes worried. "Are you going to be ok?"

"Yeah, just extra security." I shrug. "No big deal."

"Alright, let's get home then." She smiles. "I bet you're pretty hungry."

"You read me like a book Aila." I laugh as we leave the building.

* * *

The rapid transit ride back to Aila's place went by quickly, we talked the whole way back. Once we got in, Aila told me to relax while she made dinner. She made some popular asari dish which to me looked like a seafood salad. It was a very smooth and elegant dish, not too many spices just a lot of flavors that complimented each other. I was just finishing my last bite when my Omni-tool beeped. I opened the message and read it to myself.

_Citadel-Security Summons._

_Mr. Matticks, you are to report to the nearest C-Sec Office immediately.  
You are to report your story regarding the attempted mugging of Franklin Haynes.  
As well as the incapacitation of eight batarians and the death of one batarian.  
Failure to do so within the next hour will result in a warrant for your arrest._

_This summons was authorized by Executor Venari Pallin._

Oh shit, I didn't kill anyone did I? The first batarian was messed up but I gave him some Medi-gel, so he should've been fine. Fuck I've got to get this sorted right fucking now! If I'm charged with murder it could put a serious kink in my plans to join up with Shepard.

"Aila, thank for the meal." I say as I stand up and clear my place. "I'm being called into C-Sec for questioning, I don't know how long I'll be but if I'm late and wake you up, then my bad." I shout as I put my dishes in the dishwasher and run out the door.

* * *

The elevator to C-sec opens and I am greeted by a familiar place. I look around and marvel at how much better the academy looks in real life, nobody is just standing around awkwardly, everything isn't a dark muddy texture. It's vibrant and bustling with commotion.

"Hey." I wave down an officer. "I was summoned here, do you know where I should go?"

The officer points out a desk and I quickly walk up to it and repeat my questions, only to get pointed in a different direction. Finally I end up in an interrogation room waiting to be grilled by an officer. I immediately start using my biotics to play with the chair that was placed across the table from me. I start tossing it around the room seeing how fast I can get it to go when and flanged voice enters the room.

"I know it's boring in here but can you not toss the furniture around?" I drop the chair back in its place and look to see everyone's favorite turian.

Garrus Vakarian!

"Yeah man!" I say as I stand up, I'm not sure why. "Sorry G… officer, won't happen again." I say, catching myself.

"Thanks, you wouldn't believe the paperwork I'd have to fill out if you broke that." He jokes.

"Are you going to question me?" I ask longingly.

"No, the officers who were at the scene should be here soon." He says before he leaves the room.

Holy shit! That was Garrus! _The_ Garrus! That was cool, like meeting a celebrity. A badass renegade cop celebrity!

"Mr. Matticks?" I look up and see a familiar asari, more specifically the one who had scanned my Omni-tool at the mugging.

"Yes, how can I help you officer…" I say, fishing for a name.

"Wheyia." She fills in as she sits across from me. "All I need is for you recall the events that transpired a few nights ago involving the mugging of Franklin Haynes."

"Well." I start as I make myself comfortable in my chair. "I was walking by some alley and I saw a few batarians-"

"How many batarians?" she cuts me off.

"Three." I answer. "So yeah, I saw three batarians had Haynes against a wall. They were yelling at him to transfer money or something, I snuck up behind them to try to get the jump on them."

"Why did you do this?"

"To try to help Haynes." I say, trying not to sound sarcastic. "So I scared them off."

"How did you do this?" she interrupts.

"I flared my biotics." I tell her as I lean forward. "You know, a show of force to scare them away. And it worked, they left. So I tried to help Haynes up and next thing I knew there were nine batarians behind me, one of them was armed with a pistol." I tell her, trying to be a bit more detailed.

"Ok, and then what happened?"

"I used a biotic charge on the batarian with the weapon, I turned to my left and smacked away another group of batarians. I quickly turned to my right and detonated a nova in between the last batarians."

Wheyia quickly makes some notes and then bring up a holographic display of a group of batarians, a long line of mug shots.

"This batarian." She point to the batarian who had the pistol. "Died of two collapsed lungs as well as multiple internal organs being pierced by a shattered rib cage."

I look at the batarians face and my heart sinks, even though he was a thief I still can't help feel bad. I took a life, no matter which way you look at it, I killed someone.

_{Its ok, you did the right thing. You saved Franklin and you did everything you could to help the mugger! You did nothing wrong!}_

[Yeah, you helped Haynes. Good job asshole.]

Hey guys, listen, now's not the time ok?

_{Ok! I hope you don't get arrested!}_

[Good luck killing Haynes! Cut of his fingers for me!]

What? I'm not killing Haynes, not unless I have to!

[You will, if you don't he'll just come back to haunt you. People like Haynes don't just go away.]

Whatever. I look up and realize this whole time officer Wheyia has been telling me about the other batarians injuries. She finishes and then looks up at me.

"You are aware the possessing military grade bio-amps are illegal on the Citadel without a permit?" she says. "This is punishable by fines up to 2000 credits and up to a year in prison."

"I don't have an amp, I just got my BPL and FDSR levels tested today and they will be put on my files in a few weeks." I reply.

"Ok Mr. Matticks, your story checks out." She says as she stands up. "Under the Good Samaritan act and the fact that you showed no continued aggression towards your assailants, even aiding one of them, you are free to go."

"Really?" I say in disbelief. I killed a guy! I guess space laws are a little more forgiving.

"Yup." She says as the door opens and she motions me through it.

"Ok." I walk through the door and look around the academy for the elevator it came in from, as I leave I catch a glimpse of Garrus and another short detective storm into someone's office and I hear shouting before the door even closes. He must be arguing with Pallin about Saren, hell the Eden Prime attack must be getting close.

Actually that gives me an idea, as I walk into the elevator I quickly search through news apps on my Omni-tool. I quickly download as many apps as I can and start setting them all on high alerts for Eden Prime and filter out all of the little shit. Once I finish, I have it set up to only alert me to huge headlines. Stuff like terrorist attacks and natural disasters or ancient sentient machine races harvesting the galaxy. You know, simple stuff.

* * *

I get back to Aila's building and walk into the lobby. I see two men talking next to the elevator and I nod at them as I hit the button.

"It's coming down." One of the guys says to me. He turns back to his friend and continues his conversation. "Yeah I think its him." I eavesdrop. "We aren't sure yet but we'll get him soon enough."

"It'll be good for the project to get him on board." The other man nods, his Omni-tool beeps as the elevator opens. "Now we just have to wait for the paperwork to clear and he can get to work, I know it'll make _my_ job easier." He laughs as we all walk into the elevator. He pushes a button halfway up the row of buttons and then looks to me.

"Oh, top floor man, thanks." I nod and smile. He pushes the top floor button and I notice a glow from an Omni-tool coming from the other man. When I look over I catch the last bit of light from his Omni-tool fade as I look at him, he flicks me a quick smirk and I turn back to face the door.

"You guys live here or on a business thing?" I ask, trying to make small talk.

"Somewhat." The one on my right says. "We're here to meet a potential client."

"Oh, where do you guys work?" I ask.

"We work for a private firm." The man on my left answers. "What do you do?"

"I work in shipping." I shrug.

"Oh yeah? Where about?" he asks.

"Haynes shipping, down on the wards."

"I have a friend who works on the shipping floor on Zakera." The man on my right brings up. "He says its tough work, but fair pay."

"Yeah." Snort. "That's exactly what it's like." I turn back to the man on my left and see his Omni-tool fade again.

"How long have you been working there?" he asks.

"Just one day." I answer. The door to the elevator opens and the two men nod as they head out. After another few seconds I make my way into Aila's apartment.

I walk in and turn to Aila wearing a loose fitting silk shirt and silk shorts while sitting over the covers of her bed reading her Omni-tool.

"What time is it?" I ask as I toss my jacket on the coat rack.

"It's just after ten." She smiles. "I'm going to sleep soon, if you want I can wake you for work tomorrow."

"That'd be great, thanks." I yawn as I pull off my shirt and shoes and plop on the couch.

"Goodnight James." She says as the glow from her Omni-tool fades, leaving the apartment in dim lighting.

"Goodnight Aila, and call me Maverick." I say as I close my eyes. "And Aila?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for letting me stay here. I'll make it up to you." I thank her.

"Don't worry about it." She says. "And I'm sure you will."

"You can count on it."

**R/R**

**Wolfshark: Yeah fine print is a bitch that way eh? Well I don't want to spoil anything, war might not be the right word… ah never mind, you'll find out in about, hmm, 5 or 6 chapters if everything goes to plan. And thanks man, I'm glad you liked it!**

**Spiritstrike: Yup, huge jerk. Haha, if you thought that twist was big I already have like 3 more planned for the next 4-8 chapters, so get off the floor and buckle up! And of course I liked Milo and Otis,*returns high-fives* that was my childhood! And no problem, I'm looking forward to chapter 8!**

**Spartan1117: Yeah but if he just killed him outright, he could go to space prison and not be able to go on Shepard's grand adventure! You can't just murder someone… without a plan. ;) **

**masterdude98: Thanks dude! And yeah, you've got a good gut feeling, I tried hard to make him not seem evil till the warehouse, then I started hinting. Yup, totally evil. Don't all reigns of terror come to an end?**

**CrimsonKnight117: Yeah that didn't work out did it? Possibly, not quite sure yet but one way or the other Haynes will be dealt with. Hopefully you find what I have planned interesting, many things will be set in motion, things that will effect canon all the way to ME3! And thanks man, see you next time!**

**Michae1ange1o: Wouldn't call Haynes a rookie, he knows his stuff when it comes to blackmail and manipulation. Maybe if we were in the terminus systems there would be crushing involved, but on the Citadel you have to be more subtle then that.**

**DelVarO: Thank you man! To be honest I wasn't sure if you would be ok with the cameo but turns out you're an alright guy! ;) And don't worry, you'll find out Haynes fate soon enough. Thanks again for reading and letting me shout out your character! Huge fan man!**

**Atsirk Enoh: I love clichés, thanks for reading!**

**XRaiderV1: Naa, explosions are boring… Biotic explosions though, that's a whole other story! And I'm curious, what is a kresken?**

**V-rcingetorix: At the risk of sounding foolish, what is Citadel BBB? And thanks, I do plan on Mav joining Shepard and I don't think Wrex would be ok with that, it would be funny though! And I know! It bugs me because it's not blatant misspellings, its little things like no s's at the end of works that need them! It's infuriating! Those 2 words that aren't a huge deal to the few people who notice them make me rip my hair out that I missed them! I was also toying with the idea (Another reviewer made the suggestion) of making Mavs thoughts with the voices different from narration. I might try it soon and see if I like it. Thanks for reading and I will!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hey people! Before the next chapter I actually have an announcement for you, the reader. One thing is the conversations Mav has with the voices, I've had a few people mention I should clearly mark when Maverick is talking to them. So I've made Maverick's thoughts with the voices in **_**italics**_**, that way you can differ his thoughts from the narration. So tell me what you think about that. Last but not least, please leave a review, even if you're just a guest! I really enjoy reading them and responding to them! Other than that, enjoy chapter 6!**

**Chapter 6**  
-Vandalizing The Citadel I Suppose-

It's been a week since I got my biotic tests and I still haven't heard back yet. I've also started to pull my weight at the warehouse, I now have started paying back the 190,000 I owe that bastard Haynes. After that I can go pay my 500,000 medical bills, and at 1000 credits a week that will take me just under two years to pay off. Of course I've already started to think up a plan to deal with Haynes but I have a lot left to do.

Until then though, I have to grin and bear it.

I finish loading the last pallet of the day and grab a bottle of water. I make my way to the door and grab my jacket, as I'm throwing it on as I walk through the lobby I bump into Broadway.

"Hehey! James, how was your shift?" he cheers as he shakes my hand. "I heard you finally reached your efficiency quota!"

"Yup!" I say as I slap his shoulder. "I can now start whittling away my mountain of debt!" I joke.

"Tell you what." He shrugs as he leads me out the door. "Let me buy you a drink, we barely talk."

"Sure, Chora's Den?" I suggest as we head out on the street.

"Not my usual place, but why not?" he says as he checks his Omni-tool.

"Don't worry, I've got your back man!" I jest as we head off down a maze of alleys.

* * *

We finally arrive at Chora's den and luckily the place isn't paced, in fact it's pretty dead. The second we take another step a huge krogan bouncer steps in front of me and Broadway.

"Don't cause any trouble." He threatens. "Or you're out on your ass."

I'm just about to tell him not to worry about it when a familiar face makes his presence known.

"Ignore Gormul." The tattooed bouncer waves off the krogan. "He's just restless because it's slow today."

The krogan grumbles at the bouncer before stomping off.

"Welcome to Chora's Den! Standard bar rules, no fighting and hands off the dancers." He leans against the wall before putting a grin on his face. "Got that Dundee?"

"You got it Ivan." I shout over my shoulder as we head to the bar. We take a seat on the barstools and a bartender appears over the counter.

"What can I get you boys today?" she asks as she leans on the bar.

"Two beers love." Broadway smiles as he holds up two fingers. She smiles back before sauntering off to get our drinks.

"So James." Broadway turns to me. "What's your story? I heard you were caught in some sort of explosion?"

"Yeah." I say as I rest in the stool trying to think of how to work this. Nobody has really asked about my background that much and I feel a guy like Broadway wants details. "I was at work, back on Freedoms Progress, usual business. Then the next thing I can remember is waking up on a slave barge."

The bartender brings us our drinks and I take a sip, hmm some sort of clear light beer.

"Wow, that must have been terrifying for the colonists." He sips his drink as he smirks at me. "Knowing you though, you were probably more annoyed then anything!"

I chuckle as I take a mouthful of my beer. "Yeah, I wasn't going to sit there and be taken away to some damn mine. No way man! Instead I took down a guard and freed a handful of colonists, next thing I know all the slavers are running out of the ship. I walk into the engine room and the core fucking supernovas!"

"Jesus, how are you not dead?" he asks. "Seriously James, how?"

"Apparently most of the blast was forced out a weak point in the roof and the rest was absorbed by shielding to keep the engineers safe in case of an explosion. The shield _failed_ however to stop the metric ton of fucking eezo from pouring into the room."

"Explains the biotics." He nods. "Doesn't explain how you aren't a big ball of cancer." He smirks.

Shit, how am I going to get out of this one?

"I don't know, some sort of medical anomaly." I shrug. "Not like I give a shit anyway, I'm alive and have biotics that would put some asari to shame!" I guess that will work, seeing as I actually don't know the specifics of how it didn't kill me.

"What's that like?" he inquires after a mouthful of beer. "Biotics that is, the whole moving things with your mind and having barriers."

"Well, moving things was weird at first and surprisingly not as hard as I though. It's really like learning any new skill and now it's almost like an extension of my body." I tell him as I hit the halfway mark on my beer. "The barriers is odd, it just…its… when you were a kid were you ever scared at night, you know when you were in your bed?"

"Yeah of course." He tells me. "You hear a noise in the night and don't know what it is, you start freaking out thinking its monsters or aliens."

"Exactly! And when you hear that noise you pull the covers over your entire body, anything that isn't you feel like that's what the _monster_ is going to grab? That safe feeling when you tuck your leg or arm under the covers is the feeling you get with barriers, you just know you're safe, you don't know why but you just _know_."

"Huh." Broadway shrugs. "That must be cool, what about throwing around that power?"

At this I put on a grin, one that probably seems more insane then I intended. "It feels like when you fight your younger sibling or anyone else who you know is weaker. You just feel strong, powerful, like you can't lose."

"You sound like you crazy you know that right?" he tells me with a worried smile.

I smile as I finish my drink. "Yeah." I whisper in a satisfied low voice as I break eye contact, just to mess with him.

"So." He continues. "Explosion, then what?"

"Then an Alliance ship called the Expedition picked me up and brought me here, then I save Haynes's life only for him to repay me by fucking me right into a shitty job and further into debt. Aila took me to test my biotics, turns out they are better than I thought and now I'm here." I finish as I slide my empty beer to the far side of the bar towards the bartender. "So I told you mine, now you tell me yours." I say in a juvenile voice.

Broadway laughs before becoming slightly somber, it's weird to see him without his trademark smile. "I was a politician on Watson, one of the best actually. The city I ran, Hamelin, was hailed as the gem of Watson." He recalls with fondness. "My crime rate was the lowest of any human colonies, which is saying something in the terminus, unemployment was nonexistent and pollution didn't exist. It really was perfect. I met my wife there and we had a beautiful baby girl, Merissa."

He smiles again but then it fades, his whole demeanor changes, it turns from his confident aura to a shut in depression.

"Then Haynes showed up, looking for someone to be the face of his company. I refused, I told him I could help more people in Hamelin then working clients for a company. So he started a smear campaign." He whispers as he hangs his head. "He… he was ruthless, there was no mercy. There were stories of whoring and drinking, gambling and drugs." He looks up to me and I see the tears form in his eyes. "The worst was what he did to my daughter, he… he told people I…" he fights back a sob as he leans closer. "…_abused_ her." he chokes.

I can't believe what I'm hearing, no person could be that sick. I can't imagine what Haynes put Broadway through, hell I can't imagine being reminded of that every day. Haynes has no soul, nobody with a soul could do that.

Then he looks at me with a spark of anger. "I would _never_ do that! I loved my daughter with all my heart and that _fucking_ monster had her taken away!" he yells, drawing a few stares.

"Hey." I whisper as I place my hand on his shoulder. "It's ok Greg."

"NO!" he shouts with tears on his face and anger in his eyes. "Nobody believed me, not even my own wife! He took _everything_! Turned the people I loved against me!"

"Greg!" I say as I grab his shoulders. "It's going to be ok. I will _make_ it ok, I promise you."

Greg stops as he turns his head to the side. "Sorry." He whispers. "I need to be alone, I'll see you at work tomorrow." He then shrugs me off and turns back to the bar.

"Are you sure?" I ask. "I can stay man, I don't mind."

"Please." He mumbles. I sit there for a second before starting to walk out of the bar. I notice Ivan standing by the door and walk up to him.

"Yo Ivan." I nod as he looks to me. "Do me a favor, watch my friend over there. I don't want him getting too drunk ok?" I ask as I point to Broadway. I don't want him to get in trouble. I asked him about his past and put him in this dark place, the least I can do is make sure he doesn't drink himself into a grave.

"Sure." He nods as he looks over at the bar. "No problem."

I walk out of Chora's Den and think about what just happened. How could Haynes do that? Something like _that_ its… you just don't do that.

[He did what he had to do to get what he wanted.]

_How can you say that? That's too far!_

{James is right, what Franklin did to Gregory was inhuman!}

[Yes but he got what he wanted. The ends justify the means right?]

_No, not like that they don't. I can't let Haynes get away with this,_

[No doubt Haynes has to get what's coming to him, which is a brutal fucking murder.]

_I…no I can't just murder him, that's not what he deserves. He deserves to rot, to suffer._

{You can't think like that. Live and let live!}

[No, you have to kill him. An eye for an eye.]

_I can't murder someone, no matter how much they deserve it._

I shut out the bickering in my head, they aren't helping me. I should stop thinking about this all together, it's much too depressing for me. I look around to find I've wandered off to some bridge, I've never been here before but I check my Omni-tool and am relieved to find it's only about an hour's walk from Aila's place. I lean on the bridges railing and look down at the people walking underneath it, wondering where they're going and what they're thinking.

It's about a twenty foot drop down to the ground and I start to remember scenes in Mass Effect where Liara or Samara would jump down and float to the ground. Could I do that? Would I want to? I mean it looks cool when Samara or Liara does it but it seems sort of girly, floating down like that. What do they even do, lower their mass? I look down from the bridge and then weigh my options.

I'm going to jump off this bridge?

…

I'm going to jump off this bridge.

I close my eyes and focus on lowering my mass and I immediately start to feel a previously unknown weight lift off my shoulders. I look at my hands and am surprised that I'm not glowing blue, I do feel a chill though. I start to move around and notice it's incredibly easy to move, I slowly squat down pulling myself into a ball. With a quick hop I find myself five feet of the ground!

Holy shit! Why wouldn't they let you do this in the game? Shit, what else have I been limiting myself to just because it wouldn't let me do that in the game? This is awesome!

Almost instantly I sling my feet over the railing and slide off the bridge. I brace for the impact as the twenty feet closes faster than I thought, but I smile as the landing has no more force than jumping from a single step! This is so fucking cool! This would be great for free running…

I bring up my Omni-tool and open the extranet app and type in _Biotic Free Running_, I am instantly bombarded with over one _billion_ hits! I click the first video and my jaw drops as I see an asari whipping her body around a city, lowering and increasing her mass to make sure she lands exactly where she wants. After watching two and a half minutes of acrobatics I decide all of the things she is doing is beyond my skillset.

I'm just about to close the video when I see something that is to cool to ignore. The asari focuses her warp to the tips of her fingers and uses it to make makeshift footholds in a flat wall. I instantly form a warp in my hands and stare at the ball of devouring dark matter, which still freaks me out by the way.

I try not to freak out as the warp melds to the tips of my fingers. If it was a throw it would move to my hands like a raindrop, it would bulk up in the direction it needs to go and then pushes its way there as a tail follows. The warp does the opposite, its slithers its way over, like watching a time lapse of wound becoming infected.

I push past the all-consuming purple swirl and walk up to the part of the wall that leads back up to the bridge. I take in a breath and plant my hand in the wall, a sinister sizzle escaping as the warp eats through the wall. I start to slowly climb up the wall and decide halfway up to lower my mass to climb faster. I clamber up over the bridges railing and am surprised to see a familiar face.

"Hey Saylem!" I say as I spring to my feet.

"What are you doing?" he quietly moans like I'm a child getting into trouble. Well, technically…

"Uhh." I say as I look around nervously. My eyes fall on the pocked wall from my rock-climbing adventure. "Vandalizing the Citadel I suppose. What are you doing?" I ask as he shakes his head at my answer.

"I'm going home." He tells me right before he walks off.

"I'll walk with you." I say as I catch up to him, shit that salarian is quick. "We should talk more man!"

I stare at Saylem and am met with silence. "Well you should talk more." I playfully accuse. Again I am met by silence. "You uh, want to know why I'm here? Or about the biotics? Or anything else in my past? That's what most people ask about."

"Do you feel you're defined by your past?" he asks quietly.

"Uhh, yeah I suppose." I shrug at the weirdly deep question. "It's impossible to not be right? I mean, that's what makes you what you are today."

Saylem doesn't respond to that, instead we just walk as the awkwardness lingers. After two minutes of torturous silence I finally can't take it anymore.

"So what did you do before working for Haynes?" I say as we make are way across a crowded street.

"R&D." he says, as he squeezes between two turians before we walk into the next alley.

"Cool, what did you research?"

"Anything. If the problem wasn't solved, we would solve it." He replies.

We continue walking for a few minutes, me asking questions and Saylem giving short, quick, simple answers. I notice that we seem to be taking alleyways instead of main streets. As we walk out of the next alley I see in my peripheral vision a huge krogan appear on my right, so I slow my pace so he doesn't run into me. Saylem however didn't notice the mountain of muscle and runs into the krogan. With a quick thud Saylem was cast to the ground as the krogan barely noticed the salarian.

"Shit Saylem, are you ok?" I say as I pull him to his feet.

"I'm fine." He mutters as shakes his head and dusts off his shoulder.

"Stay here." I tell him as I take a handful of quick strides to catch up to the krogan. "Hey! You knocked over my friend!" I shout as I grip the krogan's pauldron. "I want you to apologize!" I pull back on the krogan and my heart nearly stops. I try not to flinch as I'm met with piercing red eyes, garnished with a scar.

_Urdnot Wrex._

I just shouted at Urdnot Wrex.

I'm going to die.

"Tell the _salarian_ to watch where it's going." Wrex grumbles as he tilts his head at Saylem.

"I didn't hear an apology." I say before my brain can stop my mouth. A low, barely audible growl escapes from Wrex as he steps towards me, stopping just inches from my face. Why did I have to say that? Why couldn't I just shut up and let Wrex go about his day? Now I'm going to die in a flurry of shotgun pellets and gore. I can't back down though, not just out of pride but it might get me some brownie points later on the Normandy.

"And you won't." he growls. Shit he seems pissed, hell he's probably working on tracking down Fist. I never read the comic they made but apparently he was on the Citadel for a month or two before he finally got him.

…

Shit that means Eden Prime is close! Fuck! Shepard will be here soon and I haven't done anything about Haynes or my money problems. I need to get on that now, in fact right after I see where Saylem lives I'm going to act.

But for now I have to deal with Wrex. Krogan respect strength, but I also enjoy being alive. I'm pretty sure my barriers could stop a shot from a dreadnaught I'm so damn scared! And I think I can run faster than Wrex so I might as well stand my ground. Here goes nothing!

"I said, apologize." I try to say with some authority. My whole body is on a hair trigger as I wait for Wrex to do something. He spends the longest ten seconds I've ever experienced in my life glaring at me with blood red eyes.

"You don't know who I am, do you?" he asks as a hint of a smirk catches on the corner of his mouth. I think this is working! Ok, I think I've got this.

"No." I lie as I force myself to smirk, despite what my brain tells me. "You don't know who _I _am…" I put every ounce of energy and focus I can into a violent biotic flare that tears up my body before hissing out and fading like blue flames. Wrex doesn't budge a muscle, not that I expected him to flinch. "…do you?"

Wrex leans in even closer and it takes every single ounce of willpower not to scream and run away like a child. Even more willpower when his eyes narrow into a death glare and the heat from his nostrils blasts my face. Then he relaxes and steps back from my face with a smirk and my whole body cancels the self-destruct sequence it started when I first saw Wrex and my lungs fill with air for the first time in two minutes.

"You're the first person I've met on this station with a spine you know that?" he smirks before he becomes a bit more menacing. "Don't make me have to fix that." He threatens in a low tone before walking off into the crowd.

Holy fuck. I hold my breath as I watch Wrex fade way in the sea of people, the second he disappears my whole body goes limp and I start to hyperventilate. Somewhere amongst the heavy breathing and apologies to god I hear Saylem speak up.

"Are you crazy?" he asks quietly, not in an angry tone but a genuinely concerned one.

"I don't see how I'm not Saylem." I huff as I run my hands through my hair and shake my head.

"Why did you do that?" he asks me while I straighten myself out.

"He pushed you over man." I tell him. "Why didn't _you_ do anything?"

"He was a krogan." He says as if I didn't notice.

"So?" I scoff. "You can't let people walk all over you Saylem, it doesn't matter who they are or _what_ they are."

Saylem seems to ponder my words as we start to walk again. In silence of course. After five minutes of walking Saylem stops at a small apartment.

"This your place?" I say as I nod at the door.

"Yes." He says as he activates the door to his house. "You can come in if you want." He stands to the side.

I start to walk into Saylems place when I hear a voice come from the apartment.

"Jodin!" the voice says. "You should know better than to bring friends to our little meetings."

"Got company Saylem?" I smirk at him, but then I notice his face. It seems distraught, worried and… I see a sharp movement out of the corner of my eye and feel a sharp pain in my stomach. I let out a gasp as I stumble back out of the apartment as the pains spreads through my body. I hear a slight commotion but it's just a drone in my ears as I look down.

I inhale sharply as I stare down at the knife lodged into my stomach, blood slowly leaking out from the hilt. I look up to see a sneering turian walk from the left of the doorway and out to meet me. I try to toss him away, or to do, anything but I can't focus. Not with the pain shooting through my body. I fall to one knee as a strained grunt escapes my mouth, bending over as I wrap my hand around the handle of the knife.

"Hurry up with him." I hear the voice again. Before I can do anything the turian slams his knee into my face. I let out a yell as I feel the cartilage in my nose crunch itself apart before I fall on the ground on my back.

"_Fuckin shit…_" I moan as I writhe on the ground in pain. I watch helplessly as the turian starts to walk towards me, I try again to throw him away but I can't concentrate hard enough, the pain is too much. Suddenly he is knelt beside me and grabs the handle of the knife and with a sick smile he twists the blade in my flesh before sharply ripping it out of my body. I let out another scream, hoping that someone will hear me, anyone. But my scream is cut short as I her a wet thud and the pain shifts its focus. I open my eyes again to see the turian forcing the blade into my chest, five inches right of my heart.

"You feel that?" the turian whispers in my ear before leaning on the knife to force it deeper. "_That's what it feels like to die._"

A wet gurgle struggles out of my throat as I watch the turian smile as he takes my life. I can't do this again, I already died once. I have so much I want to do in this universe, so many things I want to explore. I won't die like this. I feel a spark of adrenalin pump through my veins as I spit the blood from my mouth and glare at the turian.

"I'll show you what it's like to die." I quietly snap at him, causing him to cock his head at me. I feel the power of a throw build in my right hand and the hunger of a warp manifest in left. I quickly bring both hands to the turians head and watch as the two powers wrap around his skull, twisting and winding towards each other, reaching for each other. Then the biotics meet as they fully engulf my assailants head…

And they detonate.

My vision is filled with blue as the dark matter forces every atom in his head to separate, sending arching streams of blue blood sailing into the air as my hands clap together where his head used to be. I feel the hot blood and bits of bone rain down on my face and blink to clear it from my eyes. The turians body slumps to the side and liters of blood pour out of his neck as at pools on the metal floor.

I use the surge of adrenaline to grasp the knife and I scream as I pull it out of my chest. I toss the knife aside and use my blue hand to key into my search history in my Omni-tool. I finally come across Medi-gel and click auto apply and in a few moments the pain dulls itself and the bleeding stops. My head droops back onto the cold metal floor as I try to wipe the blood from my face but it doesn't work, my hands are just as coated in it as my face.

My head picks up as I hear a commotion form Saylems apartment. _Shit, I've gotta help Saylem. _I slowly roll my body to the side but if freeze as I see my reflection in the steel floor. Blood and gore coat my face, small pieces of brain matter hang from my hair and shoulders. I stare at the horror show on the floor, the reflection slowly being dotted with the blue blood dripping from my face before being completely blocked by vomit.

I wipe my mouth and the taste of bile is mixed with the taste of metallic blood. I slowly get to my feet and I stumble towards the door to Saylems place. I try to rest my hand on the door frame but it quickly slides off to the side leaving a blue smeared handprint. After I correct my stance I open the door and slowly walk into the apartment.

"Took you long enough." The man says over his shoulder. He has his back to me and is blocking Saylems view of me, but I can tell he is standing so I know he is ok for now. "Mr. Jodin here refuses to pay us our money!"

"I already paid you this month." Saylem protests. He slowly shifts to the right and then his eyes widen when he sees me.

"Treik, I don't think Jodin here gets it…" his voice trails of when he turns to see me, covered in what's left of his friend. He stutters for a second before his hand jets to the pistol on his hip as he turns back to Saylem. Before he can level his sights the distorted sound of biotics fills the room and he is violently ripped backwards. I flinch as his back impacts on the counter in between us with a load crack, bending his spine unnaturally before the momentum pushes him completely over the countertop. He lets out an earsplitting scream as he slides on the floor towards me, stopping right in front of my feet.

"Who sent you?" I quietly ask as I lean over him. I watch as he tries to talk but a wail slips from his lungs instead. I lean closer to him a repeat myself. "I said, who sent you?"

"I don't know his name." he grunts.

"What's he look like?" I ask.

"I don't know." He sobs as he tries to move. I know he's lying, he has to know. I reach behind me and draw my kukri, his eyes go wide and he starts to beg as I bring it to his face.

"_What does he look like?_" I ask impatiently as pat the flat of the blade on his cheek.

"I told you, I don-" his words form to a pained grunt as I put the tip of the blade into one of his nostrils, slowly sliding it in causing it to cut the inside of his nose.

"What does he look like?" I shout at him as he starts to cry.

"I don't know!" he stutters. I push the blade deeper and he winces as he begs for me to stop. "He's human!" he cries. "Middle aged! Greying hair!" he sobs a sigh of relief as I take the knife out of his nose, the tip lightly tinged with blood.

I think about his words and an idea comes to mind. I hope I'm wrong. I bring up my Omni-tool and key in the words _Frank Haynes_. I hold a picture of the bastard to the crying man.

"Is this him?" I say slowly as I grab the man's face and turn him to the picture.

"Yeah. That's him. Please, please don't kill me." he begs as Saylem walks up to me. I stand and turn to him.

"Saylem, did you know this?" I ask, trying not to sound angry at him, mainly because I'm not. I'm angry at Haynes.

"No, it doesn't make sense." He stammers as his eyes dart around the floor, trying to make sense of the discovery. "Why would Haynes do this?"

"I don't know." I say as I place my free hand on my chest wound.

"We should call C-Sec." Saylem nods as he walks over to me and looks at my broken nose. "Your nose is broken."

"Thanks genius." I wince as I touch my nose. "Whatever you do, don't tell C-Sec about Haynes."

Saylem cocks his head at me. "This could put Haynes in jail." He tells me.

"That's not enough." I mutter. "Besides, if what he says is true, Haynes never left a paper trail. Just one face to face meeting probably." I tell Saylem. "I've got something else planned for Haynes, I'll tell you guys later."

I look at the man on the floor, trying to figure out what to do with him. I quickly decide I can't kill him, he gave me what I wanted to know so it wouldn't be right. I turn to Saylem and am about to speak when I hear a door open and turn to see two pistols pointed at me.

"Don't move!" A flanged voice orders. The two men step into the room and I curse my luck to see its Garrus and the short detective from before. "C-Sec, drop the weapon!" he orders.

I suddenly realize just how fucked I am as I see the headless body out in the street through the open door. I look down and see the broken, sobbing man on the ground. His blood hanging off the kukri gripped in my hand, the hand that is soaked with the blood from the turian outside. Now I have Garrus and another officer staring at me down the barrel of a gun. I can only imagine how this looks.

"You're under arrest."

**R/R**

**XRaiderV1: No, I don't. But I do now! And how was that for biotic explosion? Biotic watch list make sense right? I mean, they keep trace of citizens who own firearms (where I live at least) why wouldn't they do it for biotics?**

**masterdude94: No problem man! Yeah they have watch lists for everything don't they? But if it catches a few bad people, what do I care if they see my search history? Not that I want people to see that… but I'll never have to meet them so I don't really care. Thanks for reading!**

**CrimsonKnight117: Yeah Garrus is pretty awesome isn't he? I honestly think that everyone is on Cerberus's watch list in some way or another. Thank for reading man, and I mean it every time so enjoy the story!**

**Wolfshark: No problem, and thanks! **

**Spiritstrike: Haha, I had a sneaking suspicion you were a Garrus fangirl! Good eyes, that was barely even a cameo! I'm surprised you saw it, you must be a true fan of his work, I know I am! Yeah Aila's a really nice person. The biotics test actually played slightly off of **_**The Encyclopedia Biotica**_** by **_**LogicalPremise**_**, if you want to learn about biotics this is the place to go! Defiantly try playing as a biotic though, I just did a replay as a vanguard and loved it! Yeah three twists, give or take, I love keeping you on your feet. My Milo and Otis tape unfortunately broke, so that's depressing… I should see if they've got that on dvd. Don't take too long with chapter 8, I need more reading material!**

**shipwreck321: Thank you, I'm glad you liked it!**

**Atsirk Enoh: Thanks, I find having dynamically different characters increases the chances of someone relating to a character and liking the story even more.**

**Orchidellia: Really? I love SI's, I find they give a more plausible reason for cannon change other then **_**oh, they found the quarians first**_** or **_**oh people were born in different areas and raised differently**_**. Not that some of those stories aren't amazing, in fact I've read a lot of the more popular ones and really liked them. I just prefer seeing the series in a different light I guess. Really? I hear the sarcastic one as Handsome Jack from Borderlands 2! That is by far my favorite villain that has ever existed, he make you laugh and **_**feel**_**! Laughing in class is something I've done before, mostly while listening to comedians or podcasts, it sucks when everyone stares at you like your crazy. Thanks for reading!**

**general-joseph-dickson: I would think you would need special skills to join C-Sec, probably some heavy schooling too. It'd be even harder if you just popped up on the radar and are in debt.**

**KrystylSky: Thanks man! Here you go!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7  
**- No! I said no murdering!-

So here I am, sitting in another interrogation room. After Saylem and I were arrested I was brought to a medical facility and my stab wounds were taken care of, my nose was reset too. The whole ordeal only took about an hour. The only reason it even took that long was because of the hole in my stomach, the bastard twisted the knife so that took a bit to patch up. After that they rushed me here, didn't even hose me off. I've been trying to get the blood off me for over an hour and yeah, I've been sitting in this room for over an hour.

I noticed something about this room almost immediately, how different it was from the other room I was in. The first room was, well, just a room, nothing special about it. _This_ room however is something else.

First there's a vent in the room and its pumping in heat, it's noticeably warmer in here than the rest of the Citadel and there is a clicking noise coming from the vents which is at random intervals.

Second is my chair has one slightly shorter leg so it rocks back and forth whenever I shift my weight.

And third is I've been in here alone for just over an hour.

Put this all together and you start to go a little crazy, it's all so subtle, clever really. Your average Joe would be bothered, make mistakes. Good thing I watch too many cop shows or that would get to me. What _is_ getting to me is the fact that my Medi-gel is wearing off and I'm starting to hurt. I've been in pain before but stab wounds are new territory, so I'd rather not go without meds.

The worst thing is that my fucking jacket is ruined, one hole in the stomach and the other went right through the zipper. I loved this jacket and now it's fucked, I wonder if I can get it repaired somewhere.

I'll have to do that after Haynes, I need to deal with him within the week. And I know just how to do it, I just need to talk to the crew to get it sorted. Unfortunately Haynes has no family, no friends, so I have to take the one thing he has. The one thing he put all of his time and money into.

_Haynes Shipping_.

I'm going to take everything he has to make up for everything he took. Only then can I start to help everyone and pay my bills, and if Wrex is here then I only have two months at most to turn this shit around.

After a few more minutes I get bored and start to roll a throw around in my hands, after that it takes seconds for me to start flinging the chair around the room until a familiar face walks in.

"Didn't we talk about playing with furniture?" Garrus says as he walks in the room. I can't help but smile at the turian as he leans on the table. "Tell me what happened today."

"Well, I was walking with my friend, Saylem, and when we got to his place I heard some _voice_ from inside the apartment ask Saylem if he had company. Next thing I know I was attacked by a turian who was hiding in the apartment. One stab to the stomach and once in the chest." I shake my head and lower my gaze as I remember what happened next.

"I had to get him off me, so I… I set off a biotic detonation on his head. Then I pulled out the knife, got him off of me and went inside to help Saylem. When I got in there, there was another guy, human, he tried to shoot Saylem, so I stopped him."

Garrus doesn't say anything, instead he makes a few keystrokes on his Omni-tool and the table lights up in a huge display. Garrus sits back and points at the screen so I watch, it looks like security cam footage.

I watch the footage and I see Saylem and myself come into frame, of course it looks like I'm saying a few things and Saylem isn't talking back to me. I narrow my eyes as I watch the door open and I step in the apartment. I subconsciously grab at my stomach as I watch myself stagger out of the apartment, grabbing at the knife that's jammed in me. Then the turian emerges and knees my face before he grabs Saylem and tosses him in the building. I flinch as I watch him twist the blade out of me and stab it into my chest as he leans in close.

I watch as my glowing hands clap against his head making it vanish in a small biotic detonation. Streams of blue arch into the air and a mist sprays the whole area. I feel my stomach flip as his body flops to the side and the gore rains down on me, I turn my head but Garrus taps the table angrily and I force myself to watch. I can't believe how much blood is on me as I watch myself rip out the knife and apply Medi-gel. The tape fast forwards about five minutes before I get up and stagger back into the apartment, I'm surprised that it took me so long to get up, I could've sworn it was only a few seconds.

The video feed cuts out and is replaced with a handful of crime scene photos, photos of the human inside the apartment. They cycle and I see how messed up his back is, x-rays fly by and his spine looks like he was bent in half. Other words fly by, organ ruptures, broken ribs, bruised liver, and other nasty sounding injuries. Finally it cuts out and I look up at Garrus.

"Normally we would let you go." Garrus tells me. "But a couple things stand in our way though, don't they?" he asks accusingly.

What is he talking about? The Good Samaritan Act should make this just go away, it did last time.

"We've had people try this before." He paces around me, he leans closer and gets right in my ear. "Do you think I was born yesterday?"

"What are yo-"

"How long did you think you could keep this up?" he interupts. "And killing so close together, not very smart of you, is it?"

"Look, I don't know what you're talki-"

"Enough!" he yells as he slams his hands on the desk. "Stop playing games! We know you tortured this man!" Garrus yells as he points to the human from the apartment. "What did he have that you wanted?"

I pause and take a breath, trying not to be angry at the turian shouting in my face. "Why don't you ask him?" I say quietly.

"Because he's dead!" Garrus shouts. "Did you think he would make it through this?"

I recoil as more pictures flash across the table, pictures of the humans back, large pointed lumps of broken spine pushing against the skin. Fuck, I killed another person. That's three now, all because of my biotics, if I didn't have them though I'd probably be dead.

"What's wrong?" Garrus sneers. "Can't admire your own work?"

"I was trying to help Sa-"

"You were trying to get your fix!" he shouts. "You're a killer! What more would you have done if we didn't show up?" Garrus enlarges the pictures of the disfigured body and I look away. "Tell me what you were after! Why the torture?"

"I wanted to find out who sent them!"

"And then what?"

"Fuck you!" I yell, like hell I'm telling him shit! Garrus is a fucking asshole, how could he possibly think that I'm a murderer. "What I did, who I hurt, that was to help people! I only killed when I had to! They didn't give me a fucking choice!"

"You're lying!" Garrus shouts as he slams his hands on the desk again and brings his face to mine.

"Garrus!" a British voice calls out. I see a hand pull back his shoulder and quietly lead him to the door. "Relax mate."

Garrus glares at me as the other detective leads him out of the room. The detective turns around and I get a good look at him, he's visibly short, skinny and has blonde hair like me. He seems… familiar. He quietly walks up and sits down across from me, letting out a sigh and drumming the desk before leaning forward and looking at me. He seems much nicer then the renegade Garrus that just verbally assaulted me.

"I apologize for my partner, he can get a tad, excited." Yeah this guy's way nicer. "He'll calm down in a few minutes. So let's talk, my name is Detective Sh-"

"Medi-gel." I say as I raise my hand. "Could I have some Medi-gel please."

"Of course." The detective says and he quickly applies a dose of Medi-gel. I feel the soothing sensation worm its way into the depths of my wounds and ease my pain.

"Thank you, now, how can I help you?"

"Just tell me what happened." He says calmly as he takes a seat.

"I've told you already." I shake my head. "There is nothing more to say." I pause for a moment as the detective shifts in his seat. "Do I get a phone call?"

"Yes." He sighs. "Look, your case isn't that strong. I do understand you were trying to help someone, I really do." He sympathizes. "But I can't help you if you don't help me."

"There is nothing more to say, I told your friend everything." I shake my head. "What about the Good Samaritan Act? It helped me last time."

The detective scoots his chair up and folds his arms on the table. "The Good Samaritan Act helps people who have killed somebody in order to defend another. However when it's used so frequently, almost at the same time in your case, there is almost always foul play." He explains.

"But it's not _always_ foul play, right?"

"No, but the video evidence is damning, not to mention the torture." He trails off. "The only thing that'll keep you from being prosecuted is your word."

"And that's not going to be enough, is it?"

"No." he states blankly. "You can make a call from that terminal over there." He points to a terminal in the corner of the room as he gets up from his chair.

"Thanks, when can I go?"

"You're being detained until further notice." He says over his shoulder before the door closes behind him, leaving me alone in the interrogation room.

I slowly stand up and activate the terminal and start keying in the name_ Greg Broadway_. There is a slight pause and the Broadways smiling face pops up. I can see he isn't in Chora's Den anymore and he seems to be over the little outburst he had earlier.

"James! How's it going buddy?" he asks before his face screws slightly. "What are you covered in? Paint?"

"Close." I nod. "Turian blood, not important really. Saylem and I are detained at the C-Sec academy, I don't know how Saylem is but I'm being charged with murder for saving Saylem. Wanna help a guy out?"

Broadway doesn't move for a few seconds and I tap the screen to see if it froze. He finally shakes his head and looks at me. "You said you're detained?"

"Yeah."

"I'll have you out in an hour." He sighs.

"Broadway, I'm probably being charged for murder man." I tell him. "I was hoping you could represent me in the trail or something."

"Over use of the Good Samaritan Act?" he asks, though I'm sure he already knows.

"Yeah." I sigh. "They think I'm some sort of killer."

"Then I can help with the trial and I can definitely get you released." He says as he smirks at me before the feed cuts out.

* * *

I look at my Omni-tool and watch the clock tick, which is about the only thing I can do seeing at its being scrambled by C-Sec. I guess it makes sense, you don't really want people to have access to incinerate or overload during an interrogation. Oh man, or an Omni-blade? In this tiny room? That'd be devastating! All of this considered though, it's still irritating.

The clock hits one hour and two minutes just as the door slides open and Broadway casually leans in the doorframe, Saylem in tow.

"Broadway how did you…" I start before he cuts me off.

"Because I'm the best." He responds with a smirk.

I'm glance at Saylem as he speaks up behind Broadway. "With the charges it should have been impossible…" he mutters to himself.

"I. Am. The best!" Broadway announces in a cocky voice as he shines his nails on his jacket. I laugh as Saylem continues thinking.

"That you are Broadway!" I laugh as I exit the room, god it feels great to be out of there!

The three of us begin to walk through the academy, Broadway advising us not to talk about what happened until we were in private. I don't think we have to be worried about Saylem running his mouth in public though. As we walk towards the door I notice Garrus and the other detective leaning on a wall, Garrus looks furious that we are walking out of here but the other detective appears quite calm.

As we pass them I shoot Garrus a smug wink as I snap my finger into a gun, I cocky shit eating grin plastered on my face. The second I do this Garrus pushes himself of the wall and starts to make his way over to me but the human detective mutters something and he stops. I look over to see Broadway rolling his eyes.

"Why do you have to agitate people?" he sighs.

"It's fun." I shrug. "Besides, he was an asshole."

"Yeah well, your fun is going to make my job harder." He complains.

"I thought you were the best?" I smirk at him.

"Oh, I am." He assures me with a smile. "But why would I want to make my job harder?"

"The challenge?" I guess at the rhetorical question, causing Broadway to sigh again.

We make our way onto the street and Broadway taps at Saylems shoulder.

"Hey Saylem, go call a cab. I've got to talk to James." He says as he waves at a rapid transit terminal. As Saylem walks off Broadway turns to me and his face becomes sincere. "About what happened at Chora's…"

"Hey man, don't worry about it." I tell him as I watch Saylem poke at the terminal. "We're going to get back at Haynes, I promise you man. In fact, call Pac up to Aila's. I've got a plan."

"James…" he shakes his head in exhaustion, clearly not believing that any plan could possibly work.

"Call me Maverick, and I know. You all tried to get out of contracts and you couldn't do it…" I look at him and a smile creeps across my lips. "…alone. But together, we'll beat Haynes."

"If you say so." He shrugs as he brings up his Omni-tool. "One thing though, I got you released but you aren't allowed to leave the Citadel. I would also avoid murdering people."

I look at Broadway and open my mouth to speak but I falter as I search for the right words. Broadway notices that I don't say yes and he turns to fully face me and grips my shoulder.

"I said, don't murder people." He reiterates slowly.

"I… ahh… hmm…" I stammer as Broadways concerned look grows more prominent. "No." I say slowly as we get into the skycar.

* * *

The three of us walk into Aila's apartment to see her and Pac sitting in the living room. We all walk towards them and take a seat on the couch.

"What's going on?" Aila asks as she tucks her feet under her as she leans on the armrest of the couch.

"We're going to get rid of Haynes." I announce quietly. Everyone in the room seemingly freezes as they stare at me.

"We tried." Pac shakes his head. "The contracts can't be gotten out of."

"I know, Broadway what does it say about releasing a contract?" I ask as I turn to him. Broadway doesn't even need to check, he just starts reciting his contract word for word. After a minute he says the words I've been waiting for.

"…And the employee is forbidden to terminate contract without the express written consent of the CEO's and owner of Haynes Shipping." He finishes. "It's airtight, even if we could force Haynes to break the contract we need the signatures of his five CEO's who are anonymous."

"We don't need Haynes to break the contract." I tell him. "Aila will release us from it after we sign our names on the CEO line."

The rest of the crew don't really understand what I'm getting at except for Broadway, he seems to be deeply pondering what I said.

"No, he'd talk to the CEO's. They'd invoke a retraction. None of them would agree to Haynes being replaced with Aila." He mutters.

"What if we were the CEO's? Besides, Haynes isn't giving the company to Aila." I say as I look to Pac. "He's _leaving_ the company to Aila."

Pac's mandibles spread in a turian smile as Broadway immediately starts to shake his head. "No! I said no murdering!" he shouts.

"That's the beauty of it, I'm not killing Haynes, he's going to commit suicide. And nobody has to die." I explain as I sink further into my chair. I glance around and notice nobody is following me. "Ok I'll make it simple, we each have a task. Saylem, I need you to remotely access Haynes's terminal and rewrite his will and leave the company and anything else he owns to Aila. No electronic trail either, nobody can know you were in there. See if you can find the CEO's info too."

"I can do that." Saylem nods.

"Broadway and Aila, you two need to prepare to oust the CEO's and prepare for the fallout of Haynes's death." I say as they nod along.

"Pac, I need you to organize a transport to Omega. One way, nonstop and make the container big enough to hold a human."

"Easy enough." He shrugs. "What will you do?"

"I'm going to get us a body." I smirk. "A clone of Haynes. It's going to have an _unfortunate _skycar accident, that's what you two need to prepare for." I point to Broadway and Aila. Broadway raises a finger to get my attention.

"So let me get this straight." He says. "You're going to clone Haynes, have that clone commit suicide, ship Haynes away to Omega _after_ his will is changed to leave everything to Aila, and then have her replace the CEO's with us and then we sign off each other's contracts?"

"Yup."

"You know if we get caught then we could face charges of murder, kidnapping, theft, illegal cloning, identity theft, tempering of private documents and embezzlement?" he lists off. "And you're already being charged for murder." He points out.

"But if it goes off without a hitch, the only thing they have on us is a motive." I smile at him. "And that's not enough is it?"

"No." he says slowly.

"So." I exclaim as I clap my hands. "We all have our jobs, tomorrow I will get a clone and then we will play off of that schedule."

We all sit there in silence as everyone thinks of what they have to do and after a while they all come around and agree to the plan. We then all sit around and talk, except for Saylem, and Aila cooks up some food while Broadway makes drinks. Pac orders some dextro food causing me to be left alone with Saylem.

"So Saylem, you never told me your story." I smile at him. His eyes dart around before falling on me.

"I suppose I can trust you." He concludes. "I was in STG on Sur'Kesh."

…

"I'm sorry." I say as I shake my head. "I thought you said STG."

"I did, I studied multiple biology's as well as assisting with multiple experimental technologies projects." He says, almost shrugging off the fact he work in ST_motherfucking_G!

"So are they hunting you or…"

"No, I was discharged."

"Oh, so that's cool." I say, unsure what to make of my ex-STG friend. "So uhh, how old are you? Salarians live for forty years right?"

"I'm fourteen."

"Jesus Saylem, anything else I don't know about you?" I ask as I lean forward. Saylem ponders this question for a moment before answering.

"Yes."

I sit there for a moment waiting for Saylem to continue but he never does so I give him a bit of a push. "Are you going to tell me?"

"No." he replies instantly.

"Ok Saylem." I sigh as we both get up to go eat.

We all sit around the table and I mentally chuckle when I see she made calamari, remembering Mess Sargent Gardner's cannibalism theories. Pac pulls out his food and it looks like spinach and sweet potato all mashed up into one big mess. Broadway walks up and starts passing out drinks, something called a Watson Bomb, hell if I know what's in it but it tastes good.

We delve into conversations about life before Haynes, all of the happy times that were had and the happy times that are on the way. Saylem managed to condense his whole time in STG into a sixteen word story and Aila talked about the "fun" of micromanaging. Pac apparently was in the turian military and was a great strategist. Well, not in turian standards, Pac tended to think outside the box. He actually mentioned Adrien Victus by name, even called him a role model.

"So Mav." Broadway says as he finishes his Watson Bomb. "What do you have planned for this company when the mutiny settles?"

I chuckle and swallow a bite of food before wagging my finger at Aila. "Nono, it's what _Aila_ has planned, but if I were her, the first thing I would do is change the name!"

"I can't do that without the help of my CEO's!" she says as she raises her glass. "I also need to figure out what to do with all the contraband Haynes has moving through that building, I'm not sure if we should stop or do more, maybe even start something in the terminus."

"Aila the smuggler." Pac smirks as he finishes his green-orange dextro sludge. "Catchy."

Contraband? What the hell are they talking about?

"Uhh." I say slowly as I lower my drink. "Contraband? What contraband?"

"What, you didn't think those "Family Businesses" were legitimate did you?" Pac asks. "You didn't wonder why they were always in such concentrated bunches and moved on slow days so they could be in and out faster?"

"Shit." I mutter. "How much was he moving?"

"A lot." Aila says. "If the numbers are right he is the number one smuggler on the Citadel, thanks to me he doesn't get caught. It helps knowing how to keep certain things off the books." She winks.

If Haynes has been smuggling stuff throughout the Citadel he probably has tons of contacts throughout Citadel space and even way out in the Terminus systems. With that setup we could grow in the terminus systems like a fucking plague, gathering weapons and strength to fight the reapers! Did I just think of an awesome plan?

_You bet your fuckin' ass I did!_

"Who are the contacts?" I ask Aila, trying not to sound eager. "Bigger ones only." She thinks for a while and then turns to me.

"We have dealings with the Blue Suns, Eclipse, and Blood Pack." she lists off. "The only reason we have those contracts is because they are unable to gain a foothold on the Citadel, so they go through us. We also have hundreds of contacts throughout Citadel Space and just under twenty in the Terminus."

"Perfect!" I exclaim. "We have all we need to start a major crime syndicate!" I cheer in a singsong manner.

"I'm not becoming a criminal." Broadway shakes his head. "This is almost too much for me, this whole Haynes business."

"No of course not." I say as I lean forward. "But I said I would get back everything that was taken from you guys. Aila, I'm getting you a huge company to run. Saylem, we will have tons of money for you to experiment and research whatever you can dream of! Pac, we are going to need a military force to guard our assets and take new ones! And Broadway, I will find something for you man, I promise. With this we can all remake what we had, and make it better!"

Everyone thinks about my words and start to smile as they come around. We all start to talk about the possibilities of the new company, hell even Saylem got talkative about all the ideas he has for inventions and projects. But I'm still bothered by the fact that I couldn't get anything for Broadway, if anyone deserves something from this it's him…

"So how are you going to get a clone of Haynes?" Broadway himself asks. "Your whole plan hinges on that, does it not?"

"I unfortunately know somebody who can help, Aila can you write up a fake investment offer?" I ask as I stand up.

"Yes, what's the company name?"

"I'll send it to you when I find out." I shrug as everyone starts to clean up.

"You don't know the name?"

"Nope, by the way Saylem I need you to break into Haynes office before he gets to work tomorrow and get me a DNA sample, scan it and send me the map of Haynes DNA. I'm going to need a blueprint for our friend." I say as everyone makes their way to the door.

"I can do that." Saylem says as he walks off without saying goodbye. I shake Pac and broadways hands as they head out and am left alone with Aila.

"So who is your friend?" she asks as she grabs her pajamas and heads off into the bathroom to change.

I take of my shirt and lay on the couch, pulling a blanket up over my bandages and around my shoulders. I sigh and shout through the door.

"Doctor Saleon."

**R/R**

**masterdude94: Thanks man! Yeah, C-Sec+Maverick=Friction. Thanks for reading!**

**Spiritstrike: Yeah, pretty brutal. Is it weird that I enjoyed writing that? Yeah I thought Wrex would act as a good timestamp, plus he is one of the most badass Mass Effect characters to ever exist! I've actually never romanced Garrus, only Liara, Tali, Miranda, Ashley and Kaiden once on a femshep run. You seem to get pretty excited about it so I might give it a shot, I'm always looking to find new ways to play the series but I never really touched the romances. I was actually thinking of giving his work another read through, just to hold me off until MtM4 is updated, which hopefully will be soon. I'll be waiting for the next chapter, and don't worry, I'm dreading writing the Normandy crew lines to! It's different when it's an OC, but with those guys you have to get it right or the readers will get sucked out of the story. I'm honestly honored that you would class me as being even closely addictive as Masses to Masses! So much **_**feels**_**! Thanks for reading!**

**general-joseph-dickson: Thank you! And yeah I know, don't hesitate to throw ideas out like that though. You never know what might stick!**

**DelVarO: Haha! Thank you man! Of course you got another cameo, you were part of my inspiration to write this fic! And you think so huh? After only seeing me say that quote, you think you'd have a better name? ;) And who doesn't love blowing up heads? It's crazy to think that you're becoming a fan of **_**me**_**! If you said that a few months ago when I read your stories I would've thought you were crazy! Thanks for reading Dev!**

**CrimsonKnight117: Yeah, it's always good not to be on Wrex's shit list! Yeah, always in the wrong place at the wrong time. Haynes is a douche, I tried to keep that in mind when writing about him, I think it worked out nicely. I hope you find it interesting, and once again, thanks for reading and reviewing!**

**cmitts93: Well I'm glad you like it! And I don't know, you tell me! ;)**

**ForgottenPrince: Thanks man! And you're a prince eh? I can't say I remember you, Prince… Get it? Cuz of the penname…**

**XRaiderV1: Ha! Thanks man, I'm glad you liked it!**

**Atsirk Enoh: No, porbably not, even less so now! Thanks for reading!**

**KrystylSky: Thanks!**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Hey everyone, how it going? Just a heads up, my updates might slow a bit in a few days. Almost exactly when **_**Watchdogs**_** comes out, but is totally unrelated. I will definitely NOT be sinking all my spare time into playing it day and night. So yeah. Goodbye.**

**Chapter 8  
**-Check It Again-

My eyes open as a hand nudges me awake, its Aila holding out a cup of coffee in her pajamas. Without talking she hands me the cup and I thank her as I get up. I shuffle into the kitchen, trying to yawn and drink coffee at the same time as Aila looks through the fridge for food. She emerges from the futuristic ice box with a couple fruits and places one in front of me, I don't know what they are, some sort of asari fruit I suppose, but it tastes like bananas and pomegranates so I eat them.

"Are you going to talk to your friend today?" Aila yawns.

"Yeah, did you get that investment offer done?" I say through a mouthful of fruit.

"Oh I already sent it to you." She says as she sits down at the table. I look at my Omni-tool and see that I have seven messages that haven't been opened, I see a little speaker in the corner of the display and it has an X through it. I tap it and the X disappears and I dig through the options to adjust the volume of the alerts. After a few minutes I have everything set up how I want so I open my first message, it's from Waiter and from the day after I got to the Citadel.

_Hey Mav!_

_How's the Citadel? Crazy place right? Mack misses you, she said she regrets never acting on the feelings she had for you and her loins ache for your embrace. Jase says hey from the infirmary, he broke his arm during a training exercise because he can handle the raw talent I possess in hand to hand combat! Lucky for him he'll be good to go for our next assignment in [CLASSIFIED]__. __ We are shipping there in a day or so. Did the location get blacked out? Does it look cool? I bet it looks cool. So how are you doing? Did you get that job you were looking for? Let me know what's going on._

_Warrant Officer Hayden K. Waittens._

I smile as I tap reply at the end of the message.

_Waiter!_

_It's wild man! I didn't think it would be so crowded. Yeah right Waiter, I'm sure they are burning with such a desire that they're melting a hole in the hull. And bullshit! No way you broke Jase's arm, the only thing you could break is a sweat! The location didn't get blacked out, it was replaced with a big CLASSIFIED, it looks pretty cool I'm not going to lie. Wherever you guys are headed, stay safe. I could be doing better but I think it's all going to turn around soon, my job is shitty but the people I work with are great. I've already made friends to replace you guys! Other than that, not much is going on. My biotics are getting a lot better so that's cool and I found a place to live. Keep in touch man_

_Mav_

I hit send and scroll down to my next message, it's from Mack.

_Hey Maverick_

_Don't listen to Waiter, he's an asshole._

_Staff Sargent Makenzie S. Lorri_

I can help but smile as I tap reply, as I type I begin to walk over to Aila.

_Mack_

_It's ok, I understand, I felt it too. That undeniable spark of attraction and lust, but you're too late. I've moved on and so should you. It's not healthy love._

_Regards, Maverick XOXO_

Before I hit send I tap the attachment button and set up my Omni-tool to take a picture and stand next to Aila.

"Aila, smile!" I say as I wrap my right arm around her and tilt my forehead against hers.

"What are doing?"

"Just smile."

I snap the picture and attach it to the message and send it, a childish chuckle escaping from a goofy smile.

"Do I want to know?" Aila asks as she sits on the couch and sips at her coffee.

"Don't worry about it Aila." I smirk as I open the next message. "I'm just messing with someone!"

_James_

_Download this program to your Omni-tool._

_Saylem_

I look at the program and it looks like some security and privacy software, the download takes a few seconds and I see the next two messages are from Saylem, one is Haynes's DNA map and the other just says he's updated Haynes's will. The next message is from the biotic testing people.

_Mr. Matticks_

_There have been some complications in the nature of your biotic ability that have emerged from the test we ran several days ago. We request that you return to this facility to discuss these developments._

_Dr. Theela_

I wonder what the complications are. I hope it's not serious, I really can't afford to get sick or worse, die. I can't worry about it now though, I can go after I go see Saleon.

The last message is from Aila, the investment deal is attached to it. I don't know much about that stuff but it looks professional. I close that and open up the extranet and search Dr. Saleon and am given just under a million hits, I narrow it down to the Citadel and am relieved to get five hits. I add salarian to the filters and am greeted with an address to Saleon's Clinic.

I walk over to the couch and grab my shirt off of the back rest and put it on, grunting as a pain sears across my chest and abdomen. Once it's on I look and see Aila with a concerned look on her face.

"You should take something for that." She reasons. "It looks painful."

"I'll be fine, I'll just walk it off." I tell her as I pull on my jacket.

"How will walking help?" she asks.

I walk over to the mirror hanging on the wall and start to mess with my hair after I hang my hat on my head. "It's just an expression, it just means I'm going to tough it out."

She looks at me for a few seconds before coming to a realization. "Are you out of Medi-gel?"

"Maybe." I say as I stand back from the mirror and head to the door. "Besides, the wounds are all patched up it's just the flesh that's tender."

"Whatever you say!" she calls out as I leave the apartment.

* * *

I walk out into the street and check my map, Saleon's Clinic is only about an hour and a half away. I can't afford to take a skycar so it looks like I'm walking. I start to weave my way through the people crowding the street. I quickly decide that I'm going to take the less crowded alleyways and duck into one when I had a chance.

After my long walk I arrive at Saleon's Clinic, I walk in the building and look around the clean white foyer. There are a few people waiting around, sitting around in weird pod-like chairs. I walk up to the desk and the receptionist looks up at me.

"How can I help you?" he asks as he looks up at me.

"I have an investment offer for Dr. Saleon." I tell him. "I would like to see him please."

The receptionist makes a few keystrokes on his terminal before turning back to me.

"You're in luck, Dr. Saleon just got out of surgery twenty minutes ago." He explains. "He will be ready for you in a few minutes, just have a seat and I will tell him you're coming. His office is down that hall, the last door on the right."

"Thanks." I nod as I take a seat next to a couple guys waiting in the pod chairs.

I tap my hands on my knees, drumming _The Way It Is _by _The Sheepdogs_. After a bit my gaze starts to wander around the room and eventually falls on the gentlemen to my right. The two men from the elevator in Aila's building.

"Well fancy meeting you here." I smirk as they look at me. "What are you guys doing here?"

"We're renegotiating our contract with the owner." The one answers simply.

"You seem to be a busy bunch of guys." I say. "I hope you get paid well for all the running around you do."

"We get by." The other one laughs. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here on behalf of my boss." I tell him. "Making an investment, I guess he's trying to branch out." I shrug.

The receptionist waves at me and I wave back and get up from my seat. "You two take care." I say as I walk up to the desk.

"Dr. Saleon can see you now."

"Thanks." I wave as I head down the hall. As I head towards Saleon's office I can see into the windows of a few operating rooms, one of them is being scrubbed down by a pair of turians. I reach his office and step inside.

I see Saleon sitting at his desk and he is just as seedy as I remember. He has that weird black coloring that blends into his black eyes. He sees me and smiles, making my skin crawl as I take a seat at his desk.

"Hello, I'm Dr. Saleon." He says as he extends his hand.

I reluctantly take it and try to make eye contact with the creep. "James Matticks, I'm here because I have a proposition for you."

"Well Mr. Matticks, please tell me about it." He says as he relaxes in in chair.

God I hate talking to this slime ball, his whole demeanor makes me sick.

"I'm going to cut to the chase Saleon." I say as I lean forward. "We are interested in the medical facility you have here and believe in the work you're doing." I lie. I lean forward and bring my voice to a low whisper. "But I am more interested in your _side business_ Saleon, but in order for us to make this work I'm going to need a sample."

Saleon narrows his eyes at me and clasps his hands together and leans on his desk. "What do you have in mind?"

I smile and open up my Omni-tool and in a few moments I send Haynes DNA map to Saleon. He begins to look over the document as I start to talk. "I'm aware of your cloning experiments, but I want something bigger. I want a full clone, not just organs."

"This isn't something that can be done overnight." He says as he closes the document.

"I'm aware." I say as I bring up Aila's contract and send it to him. "But if you can do this, the funding we can provide will be able to get you anything you want. Equipment, labs, workers, new tech, and better clientele."

I watch as his beady eyes slink side to side as he reads through the document. After a minute he looks up to me and smiles.

"I think we can arrange something." he says in a low creepy tone. "As for your request, how does two weeks sound?"

"Sounds like we are going to be seeing a lot more of each other Doctor." I stand and extend my hand. He takes it and gives it a shake before leading me to the door. "I'm looking forward to seeing your work, but remember, a DNA match is key. If you can't do that than your of no use to us." I threaten.

"That won't be a problem, I will message you when it's close to completion." He tells me as we reach the door to his office. He holds out his hand again as he smiles. "I'm looking forward to this partnership Mr. Matticks."

I hear the door open to my right as I take Saleon's hand. "I'm looking forward to seeing what you can produce." I notice that someone is standing next to me, two people in fact. They must have been the ones to open the door, not us. I turn my head as I release Saleon's hand and I see the absolute last person I wanted to see.

Garrus stares back at me as I look at him and his partner, the blonde Brit from the academy. I can feel Garrus's glare burn a hole in my head, his partner looks more confused and suspicious if anything but Garrus is fuming. If I think about it, it makes sense, he was mad at Saleon in the first game and that was after he had time to cool down on the Normandy. Now though, it's all fresh.

I nod at the two officers as I squeeze between them, Garrus not taking his eyes off me until I'm out of his line of sight. I hope he doesn't scare Saleon off before I can get the copy of Haynes. If I don't get that then everything will fall apart, I can't be stuck here while Shepard runs around the galaxy without me.

As I walk out onto the street, I bring up my Omni-tool and make a group message to Aila, Pac, Saylem, and Broadway.

_Hey_

_Two weeks._

_Mav_

I hit send and look up the biotic facility on my Omni-tool. Shit, that's a four hour walk. How am I going to get there? I look around for a rapid transit terminal and quickly find one. I scroll through the options and am disappointed that there is no free option. Damn.

I move to the side and let a turian use the terminal, I look over their shoulder and see that he is going to the same ward that the biotic testing facility is on, it's only a forty minute ride to the ward. I see a skycar break away from the line of buzzing skyvehicles and make its way to us. I think if I play this right I might be able to steal a ride with this guy. I just have to be confident, if you look like you belong then nobody questions you.

Most of the time.

The skycar opens up and the turian makes his way into the car and I follow behind him, he takes a seat in the front and I make my way to the rear right seat. I see him staring at me in my peripheral vision, but I don't look up. Instead I bring up my Omni-tool and start to flip through my messages, ignoring the staring turian. I smile as he turns back around and the door to the skycar closes.

* * *

I walk into the biotic facility and step up to the desk. I ask the receptionist if I can talk to someone and I give her my name and information. I take a seat and wait about fifteen minutes until the doctor who first tested me leads me into an office.

"Mr. Matticks I have good news and bad news." She says in a professional tone. "I will start with the good news."

"Ok lay it on me Doc."

"The biotic nodes that are in your body, the things responsible for your biotic ability, are showing no signs of rejection." She explains. "One of the nodes has also attached itself to the prefrontal cortex in your brain, the prefrontal cortex is the part of your brain that allows you to focus on tasks and multitask."

"Ok, what does that mean?"

"Most biotics train with hand gestures, that way when the gesture is made it triggers the nodes in their body and allows them to use different abilities based on the gesture. The unique placement of a node on your prefrontal cortex allows you to successfully use your biotics without gestures. Your brain is able to multitask your biotics and your natural movement, eliminating the need for muscle memory gestures."

"Sounds good, what else?"

"That's the good news."

"What's the bad news?" I ask, sitting up in my chair.

The doctor takes in a breath and leans forward, the look on her face suggests it's something serious.

"The amount of eezo that was taken into your body has manifested into several biotic nodes in your body, unfortunately the eezo has also developed into Acute Discrimination Biotic Cancer or ADB cancer. This can be cured fortunately but the procedure is very expensive and will not work past a certain stage of the cancers evolution…"

I stare back at the doctor, not sure what to say. I feel my breath shorten and the doctor's voice becomes an ignored drone. This can't be right, there must have been a mistake with the test. That must be it, there was a mistake on the test. The doctors voice clears up and I listen to the end of her sentence.

"… the cancer in its late stage begins to farm a warp effect and will begin to breakdown the cells in your body an-"

"Can you check the test again?" I interrupt with a misunderstanding smirk.

"Mr. Matticks." She sighs. "I'm sorry but the tests are accurate, what we can do is give you a medication tha-"

"No." I interrupt again, she doesn't get that the tests were wrong. "They have to be wrong, I don't, I _can't_ have cancer. There must have been a mistake, please check again." I plead.

The doctor gives me a sympathetic look. "Mr. Matticks, I'm sorry bu-"

"No." I cut her off. "Check. It. Again. It _has_ to be wrong!" I stress.

"The tests aren't wrong Mr. Matti-"

"They _are_ wrong!" I yell. "Check it again!" I plead, pointing at her as I yell.

"I'm sorry, I can't-"

I shoot up from my chair, sending it backwards across the room. I slam my hands on the desk and leaning over it, getting right in her face. "CHECK IT AGAIN!" I scream. The asari jumps back in surprise, looking down at my hands and then back to me. I look down and see the biotics fade from my hands, two deep handprints denting the metal desk.

I step away from the desk, still staring at the hand prints sunk into the metal. I mumble an apology as I slump back into my chair. The doctor doesn't say anything as I sit motionless, she patiently waits for me to talk, giving me time to take in the news.

After five minutes of silence I finally look up from the floor. "What uh, what can I do to get rid of it?" I ask as I pull the chair back up to the desk.

"Well the only thing you can do for now is go on medication." She responds.

"That's it?" I ask in disbelief, there must be something else.

"For now." She reiterates. "After a year on the meds, we will be able to perform surgery."

"Why the meds?" I ask. "Why can't I just do the surgery now?"

"The medication prepares your body for the surgery, without it the likelihood of the surgery being successful is slim." She tells me. "After a year of medication you should be ready, then we can operate and attempt to remove the cancerous cells."

"Ok, so how much is the medication?" I ask, knowing full well I can't afford them.

"Each dose costs 75 credits, after 365 days you can stop taking it." She tells me, handing me a datapad with the information. "The surgery itself is very quick and costs 10,000 credits."

"Ok, what if I can't take the medication right away?" I ask, hoping that I have time.

"The cancer spreads slowly, it's not aggressive in its early stages. You have to take the medication for a year, that is certain. Unfortunately the cancer has a beta stage in which it begins to aggressively attack the body in order to form a warp in order to spread even faster, this stage takes over ten years to end, causing the start of the apex stage. The apex stage takes two years to finish and at the end, you will expire. The last ten minutes of the stage is when the warp manifests, this is excruciatingly painful but is the only pain you will feel throughout any of the stages. It's not uncommon for patients to "opt out" to save themselves from the pain."

"The cancer causes a warp?" I ask. "Inside me?"

"Yes, but it will take well over thirteen years to manifest, possibly more. You're very lucky that we caught it so early, this gives you ample time to take medication, most people find out too late and enter the beta stage before the medication can prepare them for surgery." She says. "I have to tell you though that if you get the surgery before the beta stage it will still only have a sixty percent chance of being a success. Goddess forbid it reaches the beta stage but if it does, you have at most a five percent chance of pulling through."

I stare at the datapad, eyeing the price of the medication. Even if I get rid of Haynes and start making real money, I have half a million credits to pay off from my last surgery. But the cancer takes two years to reach its apex, I can pay my bills off in a year and have enough time before it gets worse. I can do this.

{Of course you can! You're a fighter!}

_Thanks, that actually helps._

[Did you not listen? It's still a sixty percent chance at best, those aren't good odds.]

_That doesn't help. Aren't you a part of me? Shouldn't you be trying to help me?_

[Of course, asking for help again are we? Why can't you do anything by yourself?]

_I do thing by myself! I've done lots of things!_

[Name one!]

_I… I did…_

[Exactly! You need help with everything you do!]

{Don't listen to him, you've done lots of things on your own! You saved Franklin from those muggers and saved Saylem from Wrex and the bad guys in his house!}

_Yeah, I did do all that. So fuck you asshole, I do plenty! I don't need to take your shit, especially now._

{Don't worry James, you're going to be ok!}

_But what if I'm not? I just got here, it's too soon to leave now, and like this. Cancer, this happens to other people, not me. I don't even get sick, how could this happen?_

[You're weak.]

{You're human, it could happen to anyone. You'll get through it, and you'll have friends to support you!}

_No, I'm not telling them._

{Why not?}

_I don't want them to worry, and I'm not a charity case. This is something I need to beat on my own._

{Your friends can help you, there's nothing wrong with getting help!}

_No, they'll probably try to give me money. I've already mooched an apartment from Aila and all I've done to repay her is clean up after myself. I can do this on my own._

"Mr. Matticks?" the asari snaps me from my thoughts.

"I'm sorry." I stammer. "I wasn't listening, what were you saying?"

"Would you like to purchase the medication?"

"I can't afford it." I tell her as I stand up. "I will be able to soon, but not now. Is there anything else you need to tell me?" I ask as I step backwards to the door.

"Mr. Matticks are you ok?"

"Yeah, why?"

She looks at me with a puzzled glance. "You just had an outburst that ruined my desk, most people would still be upset, but you seem to be back to normal. Are you ok?"

"I'm not one to pout doc." I smirk halfheartedly. "What's done is done, crying won't make it go away. Sorry about your desk by the way."

"I've had worse reactions, and patients with less optimism." She smiles. "Have a nice day Mr. Matticks."

"You too." I say as I walk out of the door.

I make my way out of the building and back into the busy streets of the Citadel. I let out a sigh as I rest my hands on my hips and look up at the looming arms of the Citadel, reaching out into space. It's crazy to think that in a year it will be under attack by Sovereign, then Cerberus three years after that. All only to be taken to earth and used as a barge for people to be harvested and then destroyed by the catalyst.

There is so much that is going to happen, the geth, the collectors, Cerberus, the Reapers. It's all so much, how much of a difference can I really make? I'm just one guy. I'm not a soldier or tactician, I play paintball and Halo Wars. The only thing I bring to the table is my knowledge of the game and my biotics, which I haven't even scraped the surface of.

I push past more people and cut through an alley, slowly making my way to Aila's. I look at my Omni-tool and groan when I see my estimated time is three hours. Goddamnit.

* * *

I walk into Aila's apartment and see her gathering her pajamas from her dresser.

"Hey Aila." I smile as I hang up my jacket. "Going to bed?"

"I'm taking a shower first." She says as she walks to the bathroom. "How were your meetings?"

"Good." I say as I watch her head into the bathroom and closes the door. "Nothing interesting really, just the usual stuff you know, getting clones and whatnot."

"Just you regular Saturday errands right?" she laughs over the sound of water hitting the metal tub.

I chuckle as I sit on the couch and bring up my Omni-tool and start searching through biotic techniques. I look through the usual stuff, throws, pulls, warps, slams. Then I come across the more difficult ones, singularities, stasis, dominate and a whole other list of things that weren't in the games. My eyes linger on singularity, it was always one of my favorites.

I read for a few minutes and start to concentrate, following the recommendations of the website. A purple swirl begins to form on my palm, I try to focus on pushing it tighter to form the singularity itself. I can see my arm straining as the swirls pick up speed and tighten in my palm, but I can already feel myself getting tired. I guess there's a reason only the best biotics can use it.

I finally give up after working up a sweat and only getting the swirl as small as a softball, I look back at my Omni-tool and curse when it tells me I need to get it to disappear completely to make the miniature black hole. I stand up and walk over to the bathroom and knock on the door.

"Aila!" I shout. "You almost done?"

"Just drying off!" she yells back, and in a few moments the door opens and Aila walks out in her sleepwear. "It's all yours!" she smiles and I walk into the bathroom.

I take off my clothes and toss them into the washing machine. The thing immediately turns on and starts to clean my dirty clothes as I hop into the shower. I look around for something to wash my hair but can only find soap and a loofa. I guess that makes sense, asari don't really need shampoo. So I wash my hair with the soap and get out and dry off.

I put on my pants and look in the mirror, clearing the condensation with my hand. I notice that there's a bit off muscle building up, maybe not building up, maybe I'm just losing the bit of fat I had. The food in the future is always healthy, hell I haven't seen a single overweight person yet. Either way, I look fuckin good! I start to flex in the mirror and make stupid faces before I hear a knock on the door.

"What?" I shout over my shoulder as I strike a Hulk Hogan pose.

"I have to use the bathroom!" Aila frantically yells through the door.

"I don't know." I tell her. "I'm pretty busy in here!"

"Please!"

I laugh as I toss on my shirt and open the door. "You owe me Aila." I joke as she runs into the bathroom. I walk over to the couch and plop down into my makeshift bed.

I start to think about my condition, how it'll affect my life, how it'll affect Shepard's mission. It shouldn't if I don't let it. But there is no point in worrying about that now though.

I can cross that bridge when I get to it.

**R/R**

**tylerbamafan34: Thanks man. Those are oddly specific examples (You mentioned Aiden Pierce so I can only assume you're excited as I am for Watchdogs) but I'm not sure yet. I was tossing around the idea of using some tech from **_**Titanfall**_** but I think it's just because I've been playing it so much lately, you ever play it? It's surprisingly good! I might scrap it though, I'm still not sure. Would you be interested in stuff like that? I love feedback from the reader, it helps me make a better story for you to read! **

**Wolfshark: Yeah! Fuck Haynes! Not really a vengeance, I don't want them to heavily impact the story like other authors have done. I try to make them out as a sort of moral system and a place to sneak dialogue in between important stuff. Thanks for the review man!**

**cmitts93: Yeah Mav and Garrus aren't on the best of terms right now, at this rate it probably wont be getting any better. Thanks for the review man!**

**DelVarO: Haha! Fuck the system! Don't let the man keep you down dude! Haha! Thanks for reading man, and thanks for the review, I'm glad I could brighten your day in the land of grey over there! ;)**

**KrystylSky: Yeah for sure! And knowing Garrus he won't be letting that go very easily! Thanks for reading!**

**general-joseph-dickson: Just a few, it's really too early to tell! Thanks for the review!**

**CrimsonKnight117: Thanks, I thought it was a good idea! I never got why some fics just followed the storyline and only helped in that regard, there's no reason why you can't do even more right? Not saying that the other major fics are bad, hell some of them aren't even done yet, I just thought it was a good idea! Thanks for the review!**

**XRaiderV1: Thank you man!**

**Spiritstrike: Yeah, you always gotta give a nod to the greats now and then! Yeah so far Mavs been fucked every time he rounds the corner! Really? It seems weird to me, maybe not weird, sadistic might be a better word! ;) And yeah Wrex is the best, did you ever have to kill him in ME3? If not look it up on youtube, between that and stopping Mordin it's two of the things that are in ME3 that makes me wonder who could possibly do that! I hope I don't have to wait forever either! ;) And I like reading through your long reviews, but PM's might not be a bad idea. We have seems to slip more and more into a full blown conversation that has nothing to do with fanfictions at all! Anyway, thanks for reading!**

**masterdude94: Haha, don't say hacked! Your only fueling my anticipation for **_**Watchdogs**_**! Yeah, anything to get rid of Haynes, it actually makes me mad writing in the shitty things I make him do! Thanks for the review!**

**V-rcingetorix: Not bad if I do say so myself! Haha, you'll have to wait man! And Garrus is heavy for a reason you might not expect, you'll find out when Mav goes to court. Thanks for reading and leaving a review man!**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Sorry about the wait people, surprisingly **_**Watchdogs**_** wasn't my main distraction. I unfortunately had to shingle my roof and redo my deck, and play **_**Watchdogs**_** of course. I have a few things to say about the game so if you're interested in getting it, I promise it will be spoiler free. I'll slip it in after the Review Response, so give it a read if you're interested. Now on with the show!**

**Chapter 9  
**-A Garden View-

It's been two weeks since I saw Saleon, I still haven't heard anything from him which worries me. I hope Garrus doesn't scare him off before he gets me Haynes's clone, he shouldn't be able to, he needs to prepare for the court date tomorrow.

At least I think he does, I sure did.

Broadway has been grilling me for four days now and I have no idea why, the story is simple, not too many details. The only thing that worries him is the fact that I semi-tortured the human in the apartment. Broadway calls it torture, but I insist it's semi-torture. I did nothing worse than twisting an arm, I just put him in an uncomfortable pain and then let him go when he told me what I wanted to hear. Actual torture is way worse, it ruins the body and shatters the mind. This guy will just be blowing blood out of his nose for the next few days.

Well… Not now I guess, I _did _kill him after all.

Now _that's_ bugging me. Before coming here I would have never thought I'd be capable of killing. I'm not afraid to get in a fight but to take someone's life is different, it's _wrong_. But it didn't feel wrong, not in the moment. When I think about it, when I _really_ think about it, the crunch of bone or flesh tearing apart, it makes me feel sick. But in that moment I didn't care, I didn't give it a second thought. I'm not sure what to make of that, so I bury it deep in my mind with the rest of the shit I don't want to think about.

The cancer doesn't have me as worried as it should be, though I've never been the kinda guy to worry about something that's so far off in the future. If I had a flag to fly the quote on it would say _"We'll Cross That Bridge When We Come To It"_ and the crest would be a silhouette of a guy shrugging. Now that's something I'd fly outside my house.

I'm now watching Aila pace around her apartment nervously, worrying that I'll be put in some space prison. Saylem is cool as a fucking cucumber as always and Pac isn't that far behind. Broadway reminds me of guys in the locker room prepping for a big game, sitting on the edge of his seat with his elbows resting on his knees and his head drooped over with headphones sticking in his ears. I'm slouched deep into my chair making myself dizzy watching Aila.

"Aila." I moan. "Just sit down, you're going to give me a headache."

"I'm sorry." She apologizes as she runs her hands over her fringe. "I'm just nervous, what if you get taken away?"

"Naa." I shrug. "I'm not going anywhere, Broadways got my back." I thumb over to him. Broadway perks up at the sound of his name and takes out his ear buds.

"Sorry?" he asks.

"Just saying how I'm not going to jail because I've got you representing me." I tell him as I sit up.

"Oh." He nods with a smile. "Yeah I wouldn't worry about it."

Aila seems to calm down a bit but still doesn't stop pacing. I tilt my head to Broadway and nod at him, getting his attention.

"So how is this going to go?" I ask. "What do I need to do?"

"Just say exactly what you told me." He says. "The only problem in the story is the torture, just tell them he never said anything. You too." He motions at Saylem who responds with a sharp nod of his own.

I refrain from correcting Broadway about the torture decide to check my messages instead, but am disappointed to have none. I didn't expect one from Saleon, he said two weeks and despite my dislike for him he's good at what he does. It doesn't stop me from being nervous about the lack of an update though. I thought I would get one from Waiter or Mack, maybe not from Jase seeing as he's in the med bay.

After a while of sitting in silence, barring the small conversations filling in some of the quiet, we all stand and make our way to the door. We all shuffle in to the elevator and wait as it brings us to ground level. Everyone is eerily quiet, but I get that. I had to go to court over a speeding ticket once and I didn't want to say anything, I just sat there thinking.

The doors to the elevator open and we start to walk out into the street and to a rapid transit terminal. As we walk my Omni-tool lets of a quiet beep and blinks on my hand, I quickly bring it up and open my message app, hoping it's from the Expedition crew. I frown as biotic facility's name flashes and am immediately reminded of the cancer, but I shove the thought deeper in my mind and open the message.

_Mr. Matticks_

_This is an automated message, please do not respond the this message._

_Your biotic status has been updated with Citadel Security's registry. The current biotic power level (BPL) has been classified as 4 with a potential of 6. You must be retested within a Citadel year to update your BPL, retesting may stop when you reach your maximum BPL potential of 6._

_Please note that these records are only available to Citadel Security officers and personnel. None of your information will be released to the public, we value our client's privacy._

_Thank you for your time._

I close my message app and my Omni-tool fades as we all pile into a skycar.

* * *

When we arrived at the courthouse we were all immediately sent through several scanners, once we went through those, Aila and Pac break off from Broadway, Saylem and myself and head into the courtroom. Broadway, Saylem and I are rounded up and placed in a separate area next to the rest of the courtroom where a jury would be seated.

I look across at the other seating area and see the detectives from Haynes's mugging and Garrus and his partner. These must be where the prosecuting side must sit and we're sitting in the defense side. I notice Garrus doesn't seem very angry which could be taken as good and bad. He could be starting to forgive me or he is getting closer to catching Saleon. I hope it's not the latter.

The salarian judge walks onto the pedestal that I just noticed, Jesus it reminds me of the platform the council perches on. I feel a hand smack me on the shoulder and see Broadway glaring down at me, I look around and notice that everyone in the courtroom is standing up, except for me. I try to act natural as the entire courtroom watches me awkwardly stand up. After the judge says his entrance and reads the names of the people involved in the court, we are asked to be seated.

The trial itself was actually pretty short, I don't know why I thought it would be long. Once all of the evidence was reviewed and the judge took our statements, he went into his room to make a decision. I turn to Broadway and nudge his shoulder.

"What do you think?" I ask in a whispered voice. "You think I'll be fine?"

Broadway thinks for a few seconds before tilting his head to me. "Seven days, four if you mind your manners."

"What do you mean seven days?" I whisper harshly.

"Four for good behavior." He corrects.

"For what?"

"Torture." He deadpans.

"Semi-torture." I correct as I slouch in my chair and pout. "And this is bullshit."

Seven days in jail is too long, I have to get out early or we will miss our deal with Saleon. That can't happen. Everything we've worked for hinges on me now, I can't fuck this up. I have to get out in four days, there's no other option.

The judge walks back into the courtroom and raises his hands like he's a messiah and we all go silent.

"Upon review of the evidence, I find the defendant innocent of two counts of murder." He announces calmly. I breathe a sigh of relief that I didn't know I was holding in, I look at Broadway and see him nodding slightly as if he expected that ruling. "On the charge of torture I find the defendant innocent."

I cock my head at this, that's the only other charge there is. I look at Broadway with a confused expression painting my face, he simply acknowledges my look with a raised brow and he nods back to the judge.

"However." The judge continues. I watch Broadway mouth the judges words as the judge explains himself. "After reviewing the circumstances, I deem the defendant guilty of assault with a weapon. Due to the minimal damage done in the instance of the assault, the defendant will be sentenced to seven days in prison which may be shortened with good behavior."

The judge then walks of his pedestal and two turian guards walk out of a doorway from under the platform. They both look at me and wave me over. I stand up and shake Broadways hand, thanking him as I walk off the stand and over to the guards. The one grabs my shoulder and rips me around, slamming my wrists into handcuffs.

"Hey man." I protest. "Easy!"

"Shut up." The guard spits as he shoves me forward towards the door, once it closes behind us he roughly forces me into a small cell that's no bigger than a large closet. "I'm sick of you humans, always getting away with your lies!" he sneers as I'm pushed against the wall.

"What the fuck is your problem?" I shout as he turns back to his friend, who looks just as angry as him.

"Humans." He snorts before getting in my face. "We should have neutered your race like the krogan."

"Are you serious?" I yell. Suddenly his arm twitches across his body and a searing pain erupts from my shoulder. I winch and try not to yell out as my whole body shrivels at the pain. I glare up at the turian who is wielding an extendable baton, resembling the ones Cerberus soldiers used in Mass Effect 3. "You racist prick." I mutter and am instantly met with another strike from the baton.

"Look at the human." He jeers as he closes the baton with a series of clicks as he steps back. "Clearly outmatched but you just don't quit do you? Such arrogance from such a young species, and it's that arrogance that cost my brothers their lives trying to quell your species hunger for war."

"That's rich." I spit. "A turian calling human's war hungry, if I know my history, it was you assholes that fired the first shot!"

"Oh to have that honor." He chuckles as he walks out of the cell and stands in the doorway. "I can't stop every human out there, but I can stop you."

"Stop me from what?" I ask snidely.

His mandibles spread with an evil turian grin before the door to the cell closes with a hiss, leaving a small slit at eye level. His eyes pierce through the slit and burn into my skull. "From living." He says darkly.

I immediately shoot up and press my face against the small opening, causing the turian to flinch backwards. "Did you see?" I hiss. "Did you see what happened to the last man who threatened my life?"

The turian hesitates, pondering my threat. He glances to his friend before looking back at me. His arm moves and he jams the baton into my neck, before I could move away I hear a quick buzz of electricity and every muscle in my body locks, spasming until I hit the floor. My limbs twitch as I hear footsteps echo away into nothing and the light fades to black.

* * *

It's been two days since I was put here, not a single guard has come through here. It took me less then twenty minutes to decide to use a warp on my handcuffs to get them off. This cell I'm in is obviously just a holding cell, it's not meant for people to be in for more than a few hours. There's no bed, just a steel bench, there's no toilet, just a corner that has been repurposed.

They can't do this to me, it's not right. I have no problem with doing my time, but this is unacceptable. This is the sort of thing that happened in the Middle Ages, some times in my time but I didn't think it could happen in the future.

I tried calling out the slot, but nobody came. I'm giving it another day before I break out of here, I will not die in here. I tried to send a message to Broadway and the rest of my friends but my Omni-tool is jammed, just like the interrogation room in the C-Sec academy. Now it's just a fancy watch that tortures me with the time I've spent in this shithole. A sudden waft of stench reminds me how true that statement really is.

[Well well well, looky what we've got here!]

{Are you ok?}

_Yeah I'm fine, for now._

[Can't you do anything right?]

{You don't seem to have the best of luck James.}

_Yeah, tell me about it. Nothings really gone right in the time I've been here, the only thing so far is my deal with Saleon. Hopefully that won't go sour like the rest of the… everything I've done._

{You will be ok, you always turn it around for the better!}

[Well, I wouldn't go that far. Garrus is out there right now trying to catch Saleon who is now being more active because of your little project. The more things that slithery fuck does the more chances there are for a mistake to surface.]

_Shit, you're right. What if it causes a mistake that lets Garrus catch him instead of him running away! It could get traced back to me, back to my friends! Fuck!_

{Your friend Saylem is smarter than that! I bet that software he made you download could help you stay hidden!}

[Or it covers his tracks, he was STG. Those guys have more failsafe's then a junkie has nervous ticks.]

_Nah, Saylems alright. He doesn't seem like the kinda guy to stab someone in the back._

[He also didn't seem like the kinda guy to be in STG.]

_Point taken, but Saylem wouldn't do that… I don't think he would do that._

{Saylem is a wonderful person!}

_Well, wonderful might be too far. Broadway or Aila maybe, they are genuinely nice people. Not that Saylems not nice, he's just quiet and keeps to himself._

[Speaking of Aila, how long are you going to live with that piece of ass before you get in that?]

_Get in that? Gee you have such a way with words, fucking idiot. Get your mind out of the gutter, we're just friends._

{Besides, he isn't her type.}

_What's that supposed mean?_

{You're not her type.}

[What the fuck are you talking about?]

_Yeah man, what are you talking about?_

{She said it the day you met her!}

_So? I'm a delight to be around!_

[Well…]

_Fuck you man!_

[Fuck _you_!]

_No, fuck YOU!_

{I hate to interrupt this enthralling battle of wits, but you have a visitor!}

I perk up as the sound of footsteps grows louder. I quickly stand up and rush to the slot, shoving my hand through it and waving it around.

"Hey!" I shout. "Help me!"

The footsteps stop just outside my door and I try to look through the slot to see who it is, but I don't see anyone. Suddenly a shimmering static takes the shape of a man before blinking out leaving a man dressed in black in its place.

Dressed in black might be an understatement, the man is wearing combat pants and a tactical vest over a skin tight gel armored shirt. The vest and pants are covered in small ceramic plates that cover vital parts of the body while pouches are filled with all manners of equipment cover the rest of his body. He's wearing a full faced helmet with a dark tinted visor covering his eyes that looks like a heavily modified Alliance helmet, and is toting a Vindicator style assault rifle which is also black.

"Got him." he mutters in a low voice as he looks at the open space next to him. Within an instant the empty space he was talking to is filled with another uncloaking man. The second man waves his Omni-tool over the slot and he looks at it for a second before reaching into one of his pouches.

"Positive id, under nourished, but can move." He says as he pulls out a small disk. "Extraction is go, Kappa protocol. Hand off with Prodigal in twenty."

"Acknowledged." The first man says as he brings his fingers to his helmet and turns away. "Prodigal, package is secure. Kappa protocol is active, standby."

"Uhh hey." I wave as I stare at the commandoes. "I just wanted some water and food, I can't leave."

The second commando ignores me and plants the disk on the door and begins to fiddle with it. "Thirty seconds." He mutters at the other commando who is now looking in the slot.

"We're leaving." He orders quietly.

"You two can leave." I tell him as I back away from the slot. "I have to stay in here, just bring me water and tell someone I'm still in here" I say as I sit down on the bench. "Not a turian though, tell another race." I add, don't want the same guy who put me here to "check" on me.

"We are leaving." He tells me with authority. I see his Omni-tool light up and he opens it before he taps the other commando on the shoulder. "Perimeter breach, this location in compromised. Delta protocol, pack it up and alert Prodigal." He turns back to me and points through the slot. "We weren't here." He whispers before he is swallowed up by a cloak, and just like that they're gone.

"What the fuck…" I mumble to myself as I try to look through the slot. I look down the hall and see the door slide open but to my surprise, an asari officer walks through. I see a pair of shimmers slip through the door before it closes, leaving the asari walking down the hall towards me. Those guys don't fuck around.

"Hey lady." I yell down the hall, making the asari jump and draw her weapon. "Please don't shoot me." I say as I wave out of the slot, getting her attention. She jogged over to my door and shines her light into my cell.

"Oh my god." She mutter as she stares at the pit I've called home for the past few days.

"Yes I'd like to upgrade my room please." I say as is sit down and cross my legs, clasping my hands on my lap. "I asked for a garden view."

* * *

I like this cell a lot better, it's got a bed and a toilet and is more roomy. I also got some food and water which is always nice and I even have a roommate, a sarcastic quarian named Lorin'Nazza nar Shellen. His suit is a mat black with white accents, and a black tinted mask which makes his glowing eyes even more prominent.

"So you here for your pilgrimage?" I ask as I sit down in my bed. Lorin, who is laying down on his own bed, glances up and turns to me.

"Yeah, I'm looking for ship parts in this cell." He sighs. "I haven't found any yet but I have a good feeling."

"Well if I see any I'll let you know." I smirk as I slouch into my bed. "Why are you in jail?"

"Apparently loitering is illegal." He huffs sarcastically. "Doubly so if you're quarian."

"Seriously." I say in a condescending voice. "There is _literately_ not a single crime that could be lamer then that. Bravo sir, you have set a new low."

"Yeah, I'm honored." He chuckles. "What are you in for? Littering?"

"I beat up eight people, killed three, and semi-tortured another." I casually shrug. Lorin looks over at me before slowly getting into a seated position, he stares at me for a moment before speaking.

"No way." He says, not in disbelief but a heavy helping of doubt.

"Yup."

"How?"

"Biotics."

"Prove it."

I flare my biotics and shoot him a grin. He sits in silence again before lounging back in his bed again.

"Show off."

I laugh as I glance out the cell at the officer sitting at her desk, she looks bored to tears. I look back to Lorin and nod at him.

"So what did you do on the Shellen?" I ask.

"How'd you know that was my ships name?" he asks without looking away from the ceiling.

"I'm really smart." I smile.

"Smart enough to use the extranet obviously." He says with a smile, at least it sounded like that, I can only make out his eyes behind the mask. "I was training to be a marine until it was time for my pilgrimage, I went to Omega because I thought I could get a ship there for cheap."

"You went to Omega?" I ask. "I can't imagine how many filters you went through." I chuckle.

"I almost ran out." he says in a way that makes me think he's actually serious. "I actually ended up working as a hired gun, I guess they figured I'd get shot and die before they had to pay me."

"Makes sense." I nod. "That's the first thing I thought when you said hired gun."

"Thanks." He mutters sarcastically. "So as I was saying, hired gun, after I did a few jobs there I decided to take my hard earned money and come to this racist factory to find a ship that might actually run. It's cleaner then Omega though, so that's nice I guess."

"Yeah tell me about it." I laugh. "I was locked in a closet and left to die because some turian was still pissed about the war."

"Ah." He nods. "He figured out that you were in the meeting that was in charge of leading the human rebellion? I hate it when that happens, people always figure out that it was me that built the geth!" he shouts with his arms up in shock. I crack a smile at that and an idea pops into my head.

"So, you're a mercenary huh?"

"You pieced that all together by yourself?" he says in a childish tone. "I'm so proud of you!" he cheers.

"Ass." I mutter through a smirk. "I might need your services in the future, not sure what it involves but there'll be decent pay."

"Sure, I'm out in a day or so, I'll sent you a message." He agrees.

"Cool, skills?" I ask as I sit up.

"I'm handy with a computer, hacking and all that." he shrugs. "I'm also good with a weapon thanks to the marines, and I specialize in infiltration."

"I'll write that down." I joke. "Seriously though, I might have something for you later."

"Nice to know I'm needed." He sighs, feigning self-pity. "I'll look forward to it."

* * *

Another day passed, being stuck in this cell would have been excruciatingly boring if Lorin wasn't here. We talked about his days on Omega, some of the jobs he did protecting people. He told me a story about how he killed a krogan in zero-g combat and I told him about my story. The slave ship, Haynes, the batarians, the turian, I left out the part about ousting Haynes though. I did just meet the sarcastic little shit after all.

We stop talking as the door to the place opens and stand up and press against the glass. Nobody walks in though, the door just opened and closed.

"Weird." Lorin says as he sits back on his cot. "Here I was thinking there would be a show."

I narrow my eyes as I glare around the room, this seems familiar. I think I know what's going on and I'm not too happy about it. "I wouldn't say that just yet." I tell him over my shoulder as I scan the room for movement. I knock on the glass and start shouting at the nothingness in the room. "I told you I'm not going with you!"

"What are you doing?" I hear Lorin speak up behind me.

"Just watch." I say as I wave for him to be quiet. "They're here!"

"The orderlies?" he asks. "To take you back to the asylum?"

"Shut up." I hush him. "Just watch man."

So we watch, for almost a minute we sit in silence save for Lorin's occasional jeers. Then it happens, the officer who was sitting at her desk suddenly jolts her head to the side and slouches over, knocked unconscious. One of the commandos appears out of thin air next to the officer and another appears at the door.

"Well fuck me." Lorin whispers as he stands up and walks slowly to the edge of our cell.

"Wouldn't you need some sort of attachment?" I whisper as I nudge his shoulder.

"Yeah." He sighs sounding slightly depressed. "They're so expensive." He mutters to himself.

I turn to him and give him a judging look before turning back to see one of the commandos crouched by the door, jamming some sort of putty against the lock. He finishes up and plants a pronged receiver into the putty and backpedals away from the door. I walk closer to the mess he made and get a closer look at the putty.

"I'd back up if I were you." Lorin whispers, I look to see he has made my bed into a makeshift barrier. I smirk at him and stand my ground. The commando opens his Omni-tool and presses a button before it fades away. The receiver makes three short beeps and then the fourth drags on until it's interrupted with a small explosion. The heat wraps around my body and my barriers glow as they fight away the blast and glass trying to damage my body.

"That's unnecessary." I say as one of the commandoes slides the door open. "I'm sure there was a switch somewhere. And I told you I'm not going with you."

One of the commandoes stands in front of me as the other starts talking into his Omni-tool. "Yes you are." He says as he grabs at my shoulder. I quickly try to give him a hard shove out of the cell but my hands don't even touch his chest before he windmills his arms, knocking mine aside and grabbing me by my jacket and tossing me out of my cell.

I hit the ground with a thud and I scramble to my feet. "I'm not going with you, I've already made plans." I say, trying not to get angry. My vision blurs as a load crack erupts from the back of my head and I fall forward. I reach my hand to the back of my head and pull it away to see blood. A pair of hands grabs my jacket and start to pull me towards the door.

I try to focus and smile as I feel the dragging slow and grunts start to leak from the commando as I increase my mass. Finally he stops and I lower my mass before I hit the floor. Once I'm on the ground I spin around on my back only to be met with a fist. I'm once again grabbed and pulled to the door. Once I'm out of the door I'm am dragged towards a skycar. Where are all the officers? Someone should be here.

I push my dragged feet up off the ground bringing me to a standing position, I feel a hand grab my shoulder again and try to force me to the ground, but not this time. I slide my left hand under my right arm and launch a throw, tossing the commando off to the side. To his credit, he landed in a roll and was on his feet in seconds but I have time before he'd get back.

I turn my attention to the second commando and increase my mass before slamming my forehead into his helmet. I don't know if you know too much about physics, but I know enough that if my mass is increased, my density is raised too. Not drastically, but enough so I can send a bone breaking head but without getting a concussion. The commando is forced backwards and to the ground, sliding several feet before he stops so he can grab his head.

I turn just in time to see the first commando throwing a haymaker right at my face. I somehow manage to catch his punch, the increased mass causing his hand to come to a full stop. I smirk as I look at him but my smirk fades as I hear him chuckle. My eyes dart to my hand as I hear I high pitched whine come from my hand, his hand actually. I feel the familiar pain of thousands of volts of electricity pulse through my body, I try to keep my muscles from locking up but I didn't stand a chance. I feel the metal floor contact my back as I try to stop the muscle spasms.

I can only watch as the commando flips me on my stomach and force my hands into handcuffs, these ones have hand restraints as well, probably to keep biotics from using gestures to get out of the cuffs. I can't wait to get out of these, I just have to wait until my body stops trying to do the robot.

For now though, I have to put up with being forced into the skycar and taken away to god knows where.

* * *

We have been flying for a few minutes now, I finally have some muscle control. I have to wait to see where we are going first though, I don't think skycars can make the trip through the mass relay. They're probably taking me to some other ship, I can get out then but I need to find out who these people are.

"Two minutes out." The one commando says from the driver's seat. "Alert Prodigal that we are inbound."

The other commando, who has a huge crack on his visor, makes a quick Omni-tool entry before looking back to the driver. "I don't understand why Prodigal is even here."

"Prodigal wants to see the package, Prodigal's not involved but apparently was in the area and wanted to see him, micromanaging ass." the driver responds. I'm about to make a smart ass remark until I see the commando pull off his damaged helmet. I recognize him, he is one of the men from the elevator and Saleon's clinic.

"You." I mutter. "What the hell?"

The man looks back at me and smirks. "We were just keeping tabs on our future investment." He says, causing the driver to chuckle.

The sky car starts to land and I look out the window to see a small ship docked with some people waiting. I notice they are all dressed in the same fashion as the commandos. The door to the skycars lifts up and I'm forced out, I can't get to my feet though before I'm being dragged again. I lift my eyes, scanning for a company logo or name but I can't see any.

"So where are they taking him?" the guy without a helmet asks as the pull me along.

"I don't know, I heard someone mention restarting Teltin for this poor bastard." He shrugs.

Teltin… No, it can't be, they can't be…

"This is him?" a female voice speaks up, a soft Australian accent hanging on her words. I look up and my heart quickens, and the blood drains from my face as my eyes trace up the trademark cat suit. I stare in horror at the one and only.

Miranda Lawson.

**R/R**

**Spiritstrike: Yeah, I actually had the idea for the cancer from the start! I would probably freak out too, I can't imagine getting news like that. Oh yeah, I like giving nods to the people who inspired me to start writing this. Mav and Garrus are going to have a lot of friction come time to board the Normandy, but who doesn't love friction, and I figured Garrus is one of the best. (next to Wrex of course) Thanks for reviewing, as always!**

**masterdude94: Yeah, it's pretty great! Ubisoft always manages to put out great games, **_**Assassins Creed**_** being one of my favorites. Thanks for reading!**

**CrimsonKnight117: Yup, who doesn't like conflict? Garrus is one of my favorite characters and happens to have certain events that happen to him that work with my master plan! And no he can't, but things should be turning around soon (despite the end of this chapter!) Thanks for reading and reviewing!**

**OnkelJo: Thank man! Yeah I take pride in validating what happens to my characters, I can't stand when "just cuz" is the reason for characters abilities. I tried doing that for the Omni-tools and after half an hour I finally went with reading electrical impulses, which is the most logical excuse I can think of. I defiantly will try man, and thanks for reading!**

**Orchidellia: Yeah, not everything is sunshine and roses! I hope this chapter is exciting enough for you, there's plenty more to come! Thanks for the review! **

**DelVarO: Haha! Ali G! Nice! Cancer is a solid excuse, nothing else comes to mind. To be honest I doubt Mav will tell him, if he won't tell his friends he won't tell someone he doesn't like! Ah yes, those pesky rumors. Yeah man, let's rip up **_**Titanfall**_**! We would have to plan it though, I don't have internet out here in the country so I go to my uncles once every few months and binge on online gaming. The only reason I can post these chapters and read fanfics is because of my iPhone and its hotspot! Thanks again for reading man, I'll send you a PM!**

**general-joseph-dickson: Yeah I noticed that too, don't worry though, it will turn around eventually! Thanks for reading!**

**Michae1ange1o: Yup! Gotta shout out the reason why I started writing this story, I did the same with DelVarO and will eventually work in the others when I can make it fit. And don't worry, it'll turn around eventually. I had to look up Leverage because I've never heard of it but I read the description and I can see how you made that connection. I might even start watching it, it sounds interesting. Thanks for reading and reviewing!**

**Wolfshark: Yup! Everything comes with a price, no matter what. I'm looking forward to writing about it! And I will!**

**A/N: Ok, so, **_**Watchdogs**_**. Doesn't look as good as I expected but I am playing it on the 360 so that's fine and it still looks good! The combat is fun and the hacking adds a whole new aspect to the game, a well-placed hack can change the tide of an entire firefight! The story is ok so far, I'm only about 60% through the campaign so I can't say it's not good yet and Ubisoft always has something up their sleeve. **

**There are seemingly infinite side missions as well as something called a "digital trip" which is basically a few mini games, one of which is called "alone" which almost sent me into cardiac arrest. There are these freaky robot people who shine red lights at you when they see you, and then they haul ass at you and try to melt you, promptly sending you from a calm stealthy demeanor to a panicky fit! **

**The problem I have with the game so far is the driving, you can't turn without the tires screeching, it feels similar to **_**Saints Row**_** driving which doesn't fit with the feel of the rest of the game. Other than that though, the game is top! I'd give it an 8/10!**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Ba-boom! Chapter! So I'm sort of worrying about getting the cannon characters right, I can get my own OC's right. I made those so I know what they'd say and how they act, but the ME characters are something that has to be familiar to you guys. So if you'd let me know how I did that'd be great. Any feedback at all would be good. Also I feel I should let you guys know, ever since I started this story I have kept track of every single one of my reviews so I can put you in for a thank you at the end of this story because I can't help but smile every time I read one. I get that feeling of a job well done ya know? I also have something special planned for the regular reviewers, which knowing me, could literately be anything! Other than that I have nothing more to say, so enjoy this next chapter!**

**Chapter 10  
**-Are You Made Of Rubber?-

I look on in horror as Miranda walks up to me, valuing my worth. Her steel blue eyes eye me not as a human but as a specimen, something to experiment on and discarded. Her clicking heels stop and the soldiers heft me up to Miranda's eye level, she looks at my face for a moment before turning to the helmetless soldier.

"What did you do to him?" she asks accusingly before turning back to me. "He looks like he's seen a ghost."

"Something much worse." I mutter under my breath.

I need to leave, right now. What Cerberus did at Teltin was beyond unethical, I will not end up like Jack. No fucking way. I quickly build a warp in my hands and correct my footing.

Miranda narrows her eyes at my comment for a split second before walking away. "Bring him aboard, we will be taking him to one of our facility's." she orders over her shoulder.

I'm instantly dragged towards the ship, my cuffs feel slightly looser but nowhere near what they need to be to get out. They must be made of something tougher then steel, I have to stall. I quickly bring my feet in front of me and plant them firmly, stopping the soldiers in their tracks. I feel my body grow heavy and the soldiers lose their grip, causing me to fall to the floor. I lower my mass and start kicking my feet off the ground, sliding along the floor away from the Cerberus troops.

I roll over on the floor and try to get to my feet, the thunder of footsteps growing louder motivating me to move quicker. I manage to get on my feet just in time to sidestep a rifle butt flying at my face. I turn to run but a growing number of hands grab me and pull me back.

"No!" I yell, trying to kick off the ground to get away. More and more soldiers grab onto me, lifting me off my feet, carrying me closer to the ship and to Miranda. "Get the fuck off of me assholes!" I growl, but of course they don't stop.

I try to increase my mass but there are enough soldiers to carry me, no matter how heavy I am. I can feel the warp is still slowly eating through the metal as I flail around desperately. Through the panic, my eyes lock with Miranda as the soldiers carry me past her, her face showing no emotion as she watches me.

I have to get out, I can't get the soldiers to stop but I might get Miranda to stop them. I just need another minute to get out of these cuffs, I need to get her attention for a few moments.

"You can't do this!" I plead at Miranda. Her face remains blank, uncaring and unimpressed, as she starts to get further away. "Miranda!" I yell, clearly and quickly so she could hear her name. My heart sinks as her face remains the same, she doesn't care, I have to do more. "Don't do this, Miranda Lawson!" I say, stressing her name. I catch her eyes narrow, just as the docking cradle wraps around my vision. I yell as I flail harder, kicking at the soldiers frantically.

"Stop." Miranda orders. Everything stops before I'm being carried back to her, this is what I need. My hands are now able to shake around in the cuffs as I'm set on my feet in front of Miranda. "How do you know my name?" she asks as she crosses her arms suspiciously.

"I know more than just your name Miranda." I say, forcing a smirk onto my terrified face.

"Elaborate." She orders.

I start to think about what I should tell her, I know so much about her from the games but I don't want to mess with the timeline. Especially not Miranda's, if I somehow mess with her being on the Lazarus project Shepard won't be brought back.

"No." I snap. "Why should I? Shouldn't the mighty Cerberus know everything already?"

"You're stalling." She says, sending a nod to the soldiers who start to push me back to the ship.

"Shit!" I panic as I try to fight the soldiers off. "No I'll talk! I'll talk!" I shout. The soldiers immediately bring me back to Miranda.

"Then talk." She says.

"I know you name." I stutter, my hands flexing the warp deeper into the metal. "I also know you're second in command at Cerberus." I nod. "I know you joined them when you were fifteen, give or take a few years."

"I'm impressed." She says, surprising me that I could impress the perfect woman. "I look forward to learning more on the ship." She says as she turns and begins to walk to the ship.

I'm shoved along behind Miranda, my hands starting to hurt from keeping a constant warp in the cuffs. I still need more time, not much but at this rate I'll be in that ship before they're off. I have to keep stalling or my life as I know it is over and I become an experiment.

"I know about you sister!" I yell desperately. "Oriana!" I see her stride hesitate for a split second but she pushes through and keeps walking. This isn't working, I need to do more. "She's with Niket right?"

This gets her to stop, just outside the door frame of the ship. She swivels around on her heal and stares at me but I can't tell what she's thinking, her face is still an unreadable blank slate. I make a mental note not to play poker with Miranda as she slowly walks up to me, her eyes washing over my face trying to reappraise me.

Then I feel it, the cuffs start to slide from my hands. I stretch my fingers out, stopping the cuffs from falling to the ground.

"Well I hope she stays hidden and safe." I say as I push up to my feet. "I know I will."

In a flash my hands whip to my sides, tossing the two guards off to the side. I hear the handcuffs hit the ground as I stretch my arms back as I send the bottom of my foot towards Miranda's stomach. I curse as she swiftly catches my foot and pushes her hands into the air, sending me on my ass. I pull back on my foot, tugging Miranda closer to me and push off while tossing a throw into her chest. She barely stumbles back as her barriers flicker, absorbing most of the throw. She immediately moves to grab me again but I roll over on my stomach and lift myself up on my fingertips and toes.

I kick off the ground, leaving a biotic sonic boom in my place before colliding with a trooper still on the platform. I roll off of him, leaving him a vomiting mess as he clutches his stomach which still holds the shape of my shoulder. Once I'm on my feet I quickly assess the situation. There are roughly ten soldiers, all armed with assault rifles and the same armor as the commandos who brought me here. There is also Miranda who has already closed half the distance that was between us, I need to avoid her at all costs.

I start to jog to the side, my stride eventually reaching a sprint before I bioticly charge into the nearest trooper, sending him sprawling to the ground. I feel a hand grasp my shoulder but I ignore it as I touch my fist to the ground, sending the surrounding troops flying away from the nova's ground zero. I turn to see Miranda, in a full sprint, ten feet from me.

Shit.

I scramble to the left, luckily finding another soldier to target before charging at him. I drive my shoulder into his chest and I hear the plates protecting his chest crack as a choppy gasp comes out of his mask. I casually bat away a soldier on my left to the side as I continue to skirt around Miranda, who I have now decided is not allowed to shoot me or I would have been dead a while ago. They must need me alive, which is troubling when it's Cerberus.

I come to the last group of soldiers, one of them is the helmetless soldier so I smile as I run towards them. I toss a throw at a soldier, sending him crashing into a railing. I'm tackled to the ground by another helmeted soldier, I land on my back with him scrambling on top of me and pressing his forearm into my throat. My right hand starts to push the soldier's arm off my neck as my left is held down by the helmetless trooper.

I feel his arm slowly start to cut off my air flow and my focused aggression turns into a panicked frenzy of thrashing. I see Miranda walk up to me and watch as my eyes dart around desperately as I struggle. I let go of the soldiers forearm, letting his full weight onto my neck and reach up with a warp in my hand. I smear my hand over his helmet leaving the dark matter in its path, the purple biotics instantly eating away at the faceplate.

Within half a second he starts to breathe heavier as his respirator malfunctions and begins shaking his head violently, trying to get the dark matter off of him. In another second I can see his skin through the patches growing on his helmet and he starts screaming, his hand leaving my neck to claw at his face. I shove the other man away from me and plant my hands on the floor over my head, with a lowered mass I start to scoot away from Miranda.

I swing my body around and roll to my feet, my eyes are drawn to the man with the warp eating at his flesh. His bloodcurdling screams fill the air as he rips his dissolving helmet off of his head and tossing it to the side, with each bounce small speckles of blood pepper the floor. I look at the man's face, blood smearing from sores like running makeup. He frantically writhes on the floor clawing at his disintegrating flesh and quickly devolves to him smashing his own head of the ground, desperately trying to end his suffering.

I avert my eyes as my stomach churns and bile rises, my disgusted gaze falls on the first helmetless soldier. The look on his face tells me he knew the man, it's a look of shock and horror. Then anger.

He springs up and charges towards me, drawing his sidearm as he runs. Miranda calls out for him to stand down but he starts to squeeze the trigger and rounds fly towards me. Two round glance off my barriers as my body reacts.

Once again, I don't think, I just react.

My open palm shoots out sending a throw into the man's legs, kicking them out from underneath him. His body levels off but before he can start to fall I close my fist and a biotic aura surrounds the man's head. He screams in pain before I rip my fist downward, his head following and crunching into the ground with a spine chilling crack, silencing his screams. I see his face forced flat as blood spurts from underneath his head. His legs hit the ground shortly after his scream echoes away.

I can't hold it, my stomach tightens as I spew vomit on the floor. Over the retching I hear the quickening click of heels as I spit the last of the bile out of my mouth and look up to Miranda's elbow cracking into my forehead. I recoil as I feel Miranda's body twist around my own, her calf finally slides over the back of my head and hooks on my neck.

She shifts her weight and I feel myself tipping backwards, I try to plant my foot back to stop myself but I find its being held back by one of Miranda's limbs, I'm not sure which one. We both come crashing down to the ground, but before my back hits the floor Miranda wraps her calf back around my neck and her thigh forces my chin up.

"What the fu-_guuack_!" I squeak as her leg clamps around my entire neck, my eyes bulge to the right to see Miranda comfortably sitting on my shoulder, her free leg stretched across my chest and over my arm, pinning down my wrist. My other arm is twisted straight out, my elbow resting on her hip, only a few inches from hyperextension. I start to kick out with my legs but we just slide around like I'm a shitty carnival ride and Miranda's an unamused child.

I put every ounce of energy into twisting me twist arm back to normal. Before Miranda can correct this I reach behind her and grab her black leather belt, I clear my head as I try to lower her mass. I feel the weight on my shoulder lessen and I quickly sit up, leaving Miranda hanging sideways off my neck. I twist my legs underneath me and push off the ground, rising to my feet I give Miranda a smirk as I wave at her with my now free right hand.

I feel my head start to pulse as it strains to pump in blood, I have to get Miranda off of me but I can't hurt her. I honestly doubt I'd be able to, she's kicking my ass without using her biotics or her weapons but in the off chance I do, I might fuck up the Lazarus timeline. But I also don't want to be choked out and dragged off to a Cerberus lab.

So I quickly dart my hand over my chest, a throw building in my palm. Miranda takes advantage of her lowered mass to push off my chest letting me take in a huge desperate gasp of air. To my surprise she catches my hand and forces it under her leg and against my free throat, only to resume the vice-like clamp on my neck, using my own hand to choke me. I start to swing her around wildly, trying to smack her off a wall or railing but she uses her free leg as leverage to swing her torso either against my chest or almost completely around my back.

"Are you _made_ of rubber?" I wheeze, continuing to swing her around like a ragdoll.

After another twenty seconds of running around, my vision starts to darken and my movement becomes sluggish. I give one last ditch effort to get the Cerberus officer off me by falling forward, twisting my body to slam her on the ground. She tries to twist behind my back but I just turn further, when we hit the ground I feel her leg rip from my neck as her back bends far enough to touch mine.

As I gasp for air, Miranda starts to push herself up of the ground but I have enough sense to plant my hand on her back, pushing her down to the ground with a heavy hand. She flips around quickly, grabbing my wrist as she does and pulls herself closer, slamming her fist into my face. The first blow dazes me, prepping me for the next several punches, the last few aided with biotics.

She lets me go and stands up as I stumble around the ground, I press my hand into my temple trying to quell my growing headache. I feel the sweat hanging off of my forehead, this is the most I have ever used my biotics and its starting to chip away at me. I somehow manage to get to my feet, my head throbbing and my vision doubled. I turn to Miranda just in time to see her press one of those goddamn batons against my throat.

"You bitch." I quip before being welcomed by the all too familiar embrace of electricity.

* * *

The fear finally sets in when the docking doors on the ship closed behind us. I've been handcuffed again, these ones are noticeably bigger so it might take a little longer for me to warp out. I'm dropped in the bridge of the ship, Miranda watching me like a hawk.

What could I do now? It's too late, I'm already in the ship. I can't trick Miranda into letting me go, no matter how much I knew about her. Hell, I could probably tell her her whole life story and she would still take me right to the Illusive Man…

The Illusive Man.

If I can convince him that I would be better off out in the universe instead of on a surgery table somewhere he might let me go, he might even be able to help me! I just have to get him to talk to me somehow, this is my last chance, I have to go big.

"Hey!" I yell, getting Miranda's attention. "I want to talk to him."

"Care to be more specific?" she asks.

"You know who." I jeer accusingly. "The Illusive Man."

Miranda stares at me for a moment before rising to her feet. "Very well." She says slyly.

That was easy, a little too easy. I don't like this at all and I don't trust Miranda at all. After a minute, a man wearing a white officers suit walks up. It reminds me Oleg Petrovsky's getup.

"You wanted to see me?" the man asks with a deep voice as he stands straight. I raise my brow at him and then flick a skeptical look at Miranda.

"Seriously?" I sigh. "This isn't him, I want to talk to the real Illusive Man." I tell her.

"Impossible." She says as she crosses her arms. "Do you have any more _requests_?"

I think of what I can say to get the Illusive Man to talk to me, it can't be about the future, he wouldn't believe that. I should save that for later. I smile as an idea forms in my head.

"Yeah, your second in command right?" I ask, already knowing the answer. "When you give him your report, which you will because you answer directly to him, I want you to tell him something."

"And what would that be?" she says, unamused at my tone.

"Jack Harper." I deadpan before leaning my head against the wall.

That should do it, I can only assume there are only a handful of people who know his real name, maybe less than ten people if I had to guess. If that doesn't get his attention then maybe I'm destined to be sliced to ribbons in the name of "humanity". Miranda raises a brow before walking off and I count her steps.

Three.

Three steps until I hear the sound of her Omni-tool ping. I should have known that micromanaging bastard would be listening in, what else does he have to do in that big empty room? Yeah the dying star is pretty and all and the sexy times with famous models is nice, but even _I_ think that must get boring after a while.

Well, maybe not the sex.

Miranda walks back to me, looking slightly agitated. I think, it's hard to get a read on her, she might just have to sneeze. I glance up at her and I can't help but grinning ear to ear like a shithead.

"Ah Miranda." I smile. "What can I do for you today?"

"The Illusive Man wishes to speak with you." She recites, irked that I even get the opportunity. "Follow me."

I awkwardly roll around until I get to my feet and trot off behind Miranda. She leads me into a room that reminds me of the briefing room from the Normandy SR2 and leaves me alone in the room. The table in the center of the room sinks into the floor, prompting me to stand in it. I walk on the table turned floor and look around as an orange grid scans my body, digitizing the room around me.

The grid flickers out and is exchanged for the infamous empty room that the Illusive Man calls home. I don't spend long looking around, there isn't much to see. My eyes are drawn to the lone chair in the room, a single man sitting in it and a single trail of smoke tracing its way away from him. It's surreal.

"Mr. Matticks." Martin Sheen's voice seeps through the speakers causing goose bumps to erupt across my skin. Déjà vu wracks my brain and I shake it off before answering.

"Mr. Harper." I nod politely. "You asked for me?"

"I believe you asked for me." he counters as he snuffs out his cigarette and stands from his chair. "Let's cut to the chase, how you know mine and Miss Lawson's name is irrelevant. What's relevant is your sudden desire to see me, you carved a swath through my men to avoid capture, yet when you're aboard my ship you seem eager to talk. You want to make a deal, so let's not waste each other's time."

"You read me like a book Mr. Harper." I smile, trying not to be freaked out on how fast he figured me out. "You want to study me, probably to study the advancements in human biotics. I don't want to be studied though, I have things I need to do out here. Things that will affect every single person who lives in this galaxy, including humanity." I add.

The Illusive Man pauses, my last words hanging in the air. "These are serious claims Mr. Matticks, I assume you have something to back them up."

"No." I admit. "I would need to trust you and in order for that to happen, I need you to trust me."

"Continue." He motions with his hand as he lights another cigarette.

"What I want you to do is let me go, drop me back off at the Citadel." I tell him. "What do you want in return?"

He seems to ponder what I said before speaking again. "I would need to know what you know, if what you say is true then humanity is at risk. I would also like some tests run on you while you're on the ship, nothing invasive, just blood work."

"No blood work." I shake my head. "I know you too well to let that happen, especially this early in the game. I can give you a tip, something to let you know I'm not bullshiting you."

"Enlighten me Mr. Matticks." He says. "So far you have failed to supply me with any meaningful information."

"Within two months, a human colony will come under attack." I tell him. "It'll be the geth, led by the turian specter Saren. He's going to have a ship, something the galaxy has never seen before."

The Illusive Man narrows his eyes at me while taking a long drag from his cigarette. "Which colony?" he asks.

"Nope, can't tell you." I shake my head. "You have to understand, it's a very dangerous balancing act. You cannot interfere with the events or you risk messing up the next ones. You know, all that butterfly effect shit."

"Is there anything else?"

"Lots, things you couldn't imagine. Other things that you might be able to help me, stuff that... just came up." I say quietly. "And I'll tell you more eventually, when it becomes relevant. But for now no." I finish.

I was nervous about talking to The Illusive Man, now I'm turned around. If he wants to work with me then I could be happier, he can help me and I can help him, maybe I could even stop the Cerberus that comes in Mass Effect 3. The sheer amount of lives that would be saved if Cerberus wasn't evil, if the Illusive Man didn't mess with reaper tech. This is the one event that I can't see a downside to changing.

"Very well Mr. Matticks, I will place my faith in you." He states as he finishes his cigarette. "If what you say is true, if a colony is hit within two months, then you have my support." I smile at this, I could really make a difference if this works out. "But if it's not, and I find you've abused my generosity…"

"I know." I interrupt as I raise my hand at him. "I know what you'd do, trust me on that."

"Very well." He nods as he walks back to his chair and takes a seat, facing away from me at the dying star. "We'll be in touch."

The room fades away in a digital snowstorm of orange, leaving me alone in an empty room. I'm surprised he didn't ask me how I knew all of this, or how I can see into the future but I'm sure he will eventually. That man's like a cat, always getting into shit he shouldn't be.

I glance around the room, waiting for someone to come along and get me. After a while I start to get nervous, maybe he didn't believe me. I start to focus on my warp, just in case I have to fight my way out of here. I doubt I'd make it far, but I could do some damage before I get taken down. I feel the cuffs start to slide from my hands, the barely audible hiss of the warp echoing in the small room.

The door swings open and I turn to see Miranda walking in, her Omni-tool raised up. I look at her for a split second before the cuffs slip from my hands and clatter loudly off the floor, echoing in the room as Miranda and I stare at each other awkwardly. She raises her brow at me as her eyes flicker between the cuffs and me. She taps at her Omni-tool and I hear a mechanical click behind me, I look behind me and see the now open set of cuffs, the insides eaten out by the warp.

"Well this is awkward." I sigh.

* * *

The ship turns around and I'm eventually dropped off a block away from the jail I was being held in. The streets haven't been cleared out, despite the jail having a break out. So I head off through the crowd towards the jail, as far as their security cameras know I was kidnapped, coming back should keep my sentence short or if I'm lucky they might be so impressed with me coming back id be let free on the spot.

That'd be nice.

[They could always increase your time because you killed like four more people just now.]

_Why do you insist on tearing my world down? You asshole._

{You will be ok, Cerberus is smart enough to make sure you wouldn't go away!}

[Yeah, trust the terrorists to watch your back.]

_I'll be fine, so shut up. You asshole._

I walk into the jail and hear a familiar accented voice.

"I don't know, he said people were coming and started yelling at nothing." Lorin moans. "Then people popped out of nowhere and stole him, he tried to get away from them but they fried the crazy guy. If he's smart he would get away from them and get off this station."

He then turns to see me walking towards my cell and does a double take. "But he's not." He marveled at my decision as he points at me with his open palm. "He's here, because that makes perfect sense. You wouldn't want anyone stealing your spot would you?" he jeers, now ignoring the officer and talking directly to me.

"Thought you'd go crazy in here without me." I smirk as I stop and stare at him, my hands on my hips. Lorin stands up and walks over to me, blowing off the officer who was interviewing him.

"Keelah, what the fuck happened to you?" he questioned as he made a motion to my face.

I cock my head at him and then look around for a mirror but am not surprised I'm not finding one. I turn back to him and notice the slight reflection on his mask. I can't help but smirk as I walk up to him and take a two handed grip on the prongs next to the mouth piece on his mask. I steer his head to the side, searching for a glare to see my face. My smile grows as I see his glowing eyes narrow into two bright slits.

"Oh yeah, go ahead, I don't mind." He insisted in a sarcastic tone.

I finally catch the light just right and curse when I see my face. My left eye and temple is coated in bruises and blood is leaking from a cut on my eyebrow. My neck is red from the multiple instances of choking as well as a huge circular bruised burn from those fucking batons.

I hate those batons.

I also want one of those batons.

"Listen, as romantic as this is." Lorin mutters, the sarcasm pouring from his mouth. "I don't think your right for me."

I pat his mask as I wander back into my cell, taking a seat on my cot. I start to think about everything that's happened today. I was kidnapped, I managed to hold of Miranda, I made a deal with the Illusive Man, and I killed again.

I took more lives today and this time it was worse. The other times were quick or I didn't have to watch, this time though, I saw what I did first hand. I watched as a man's face was torn apart by my hand. That's something that's going to haunt my sleep, I really hope it does.

If it doesn't, then what does that say about me?

**R/R**

**general-joseph-dickson: Yeah, pretty much. Though they are Cerberus commandos with probably years of training and Mav is just an average guy. **

**Linkforever1: Let's see if we can change that. I'm glad you're enjoying the story!**

**Wolfshark: Haha! You have great instincts my friend! Ditching isn't the only solution, besides Miranda is a tenacious bitch who would probably find him no matter what. Thank you, I will try!**

**OnkelJo: Not a chance, Cerberus has no morals. A very "ends justify the means" sorta group, which is why I think they might be fun to write about! Ah yes, such bravado from the young Maverick, but what would he be without it? That is defiantly Miranda's only weakness, other than her sister nothing fazes her. Thanks for the review, I'm glad you like it!**

**Spiritstrike: Haha! I love the twists, keeps everyone on their feet! I'd also like to state that this is probably one of our shorter review back-and-forths! Thanks for reading and reviewing, as always! I love hearing from the regulars!**

**tylerbamafan34: Yeah, a cold hearted bitch. Not to mention a talented combatant!**

**Michae1ange1o: Yes, the fine men in blue, our "protectors". And if Cerberus can reanimate the goddamn dead then the most certainly take a good swing at some cancer! Thanks, I actually finished the chapter with Mav being alone in the cell then went back and decided to add someone. At first I had a krogan in mind, at took me a surprising amount of character creations (which have been save for later, just in case) to get to Lorin. I'm glad you like him, you should be seeing more of him in the future! **

**CrimsonKnight117: That's the EXCACT goddamn reason I put that bit in there! The whole series is just turians who are pissed about the first contact war! Which they fucking started! No way, not Cerberus. Considering the vast range of their delusional experiments, from putting people and AI's together to attacks on the migrant fleet. There's no moral mountain too high for them, no no, they will get the job done! Once again, thank you for the review!**

**XRaiderV1: I toyed with the idea of Cerberus messing with him to the point of turning him into a male Jack, but not only do people like the character, I also couldn't put him through that much change so quickly. Besides, there's already a Jack, what the world needs is more Mav! Thank **_**you **_**sir, thank you for the support!**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Ok so this chapters a little bit short, I planned making it longer but by the time I got the first section done I was at 4500 words so I cut it short and shipped it out early. Also, Mass Anomalies hit 100 follows! Lets try for 100 reviews with this chapter! Anyway, here's chapter 11!**

** Chapter 11  
**-What's The Worst That Could Happen?-

It took another day to be released, I guess coming back to the jail after I was busted out made a good impression. So that's two days in a closet full of my own piss and shit, one day in a nice cell and Cerberus ship, and another in the last cell with Lorin. All and all, it wasn't too bad. I got the shit kicked out of me, but I've had worse weeks.

After I got out, I waited for a few hours until Lorin got out, luckily we got out on the same day. We exchanged info and then went our separate ways, I know I'll see him again though, at the least it'll be out of necessity.

I walk off in the opposite direction towards my friends, who are all waiting for me by a skycar terminal. Pac, Aila, and Saylem are facing the other way, oblivious to my approach. Broadway eventually noticed me after I got about ten feet from them and I see his face change like the seasons. It was neutral at first, then he got happy when he saw me, and then he grew concerned when he actually saw me. My battered face that is.

"Jesus James!" he exclaims, causing the rest of the group to turn to look at me. Pac rears his head back slightly, but his face remains the same. Aila rushes over and takes a closer look, slowly devolving into a worried mess. Saylem has the courtesy to blink, which was so sweet of him.

"Goddess!" Aila gasps as she pokes at my neck, causing me to flinch. She immediately pulls her hand back as she apologizes. "I'm sorry! Are you ok?"

"Yeah I'm fine." I assure her.

"You were aggravating people again weren't you?" Broadway asks in a knowing tone.

"No!" I blurt out.

"Mmm hmm." Pac hums in a flanged tone as he nods. "Suuuure."

"That's unlikely." Saylem chimes in.

"I can't believe what I'm hearing." I say, feigning shock. "At least Aila's on my side." I announce as I drape my arm around her shoulder and pull her close. "Right?" I ask as I look to her. She opens her mouth to talk but she hesitates before scrunching her face as she thinks. She finally looks at me and speaks.

"Well…" she whispers as she looks up at me.

"I'm hurt Aila." I sob as I push her away playfully. "After all I went through, this is the welcome I get?"

"Are you going to tell us what happened or not?" Pac asks as the door to the skycar cracks open.

"How long's the ride?" I smile as we head into the skycar.

* * *

After I explained what had happened, and talked Broadway out of pressing charges on the turian we all went our separate ways. I don't care about that, what's done is done. Right now I need to focus Haynes, he's the only thing I need to spend my time on. So that's what I do, I focus on Haynes.

We all get together at Aila's and discuss the plan, going through all of the things we each need to accomplish. Everything seems to be in order which has me worried, nothing seems to have gone right so far. Actually, now that I think about it, every little thing that has gone right has been in direct correlation with something bad.

After our little powwow, everyone heads home, leaving me and Aila alone in the apartment.

"So what do you want to do?" she asks as she sits on the couch next to me.

"I don't know." I shrug. "We could watch a movie."

"Well what kind of movies do you like?" she asks as she activates a wall mounted TV with her Omni-tool.

"I'll pretty much give anything a try." I tell her. "Not a huge fan of gushy romances, I'm more into action thrillers or movies that make you think, you know, the ones you have to watch more than once so you can get the whole picture."

"I take it you watch a lot of movies?"

"I used to." I nod. "On ea… Freedoms Progress I used to watch movies all the time with my friends, we loved, umm, older 20th century earth films."

"Go any favorites?" she asks as she brings up a search bar on her Omni-tool.

"Too many!" I smile. "There's a movie called Forrest Gump, that's probably my favorite! Don't tell Pac, but that's one of the only movies to make me tear up." I admit, trying to sound as manly as possible.

"Is it a sad movie?" she asks.

"It's got a bit of everything really." I recall. "You could watch it as a war movie, a romance, comedy, uhh, a sport movie if you stretch it far enough. It's got something for everybody."

The TV lights up as Aila's Omni-tool fades, and Forrest Gump begins to play.

We start to watch the movie, starting at Forrest's childhood. We sat there watching, sharing a laugh here and there until we got to the Vietnam portion of the film. I turned my face slightly, trying to hide the tear that managed to escape from my eye as Forrest sat on the beaches of 'Nam with Bubba. I think she still noticed though, mostly because she was crying and looked over to see if I was too. My masculinity took a big hit that day.

"That was really good!" Aila exclaims as the credits roll.

"Told you!" I say as I stand up and walk to the kitchen, searching for something to quench my thirst. "Want anything?"

"No I'm good." She says. After a long pause she speaks up. "Are you nervous?"

"About what?" I ask as I open a bottle of… something, it's covered in asari writing.

"Haynes." She says quietly.

"Nope." I lie. "Nothing to worry about, it's already set up and good to go. Bullet proof." I assure her.

"I don't know how you're not worried, I'm terrified and I've already done everything I need to do!" she says, getting all worked up again.

"Don't worry about it Aila." I sigh as I take a swig of what I assume is juice, it's too sweet to be anything else. "I'm going to bed, gotta get my beauty sleep for work." I kid as I down the last of the drink.

"Yeah it is late." She yawns. "Next time we can watch an asari movie!" she calls out as she heads to the bathroom.

"I'm in!" I call back as I lay down on the couch and start to doze off.

* * *

My sleep is interrupted by someone nudging my face, my one eye cracks open and I notice that the apartment is still dark. The fingers jab into my face again, harder this time. I mumble "Go away." as I close my eyes again. Suddenly I feel the finger sink into my eye, pushing it into my skull and I rear back in a hushed pain, cursing as I clutch my eye.

My other eye shoots open to see a dim light a few feet away from me, two sideways ovals hovering over it.

"Oh good, you're awake." A voice quips quietly.

"What the fuck." I mumble as I rub at my eyes, concentrating on the sore one.

"Let's go. Get up princess."

"Lorin?" I mumble as I shake my head.

"Yeah, get your gear, let's go." Lorin whines as he jabs at me again.

"How the fuck'd you get in here?" I whisper angrily, making sure not to wake Aila. "How the fuck'd you _find_ me?"

"The door and a map, let's fucking go!" he nags, his voice raising a little.

"Shut up!" I snap quietly, glancing at Aila again as she stirs. Lorin casually glances at Aila and then back to me.

"I'll wake her up." He whispers.

"I'll unplug all those cords on the back of your head." I threaten as I stand up. "What the fuck do you want?"

"You need money right? I gotta job for you." He whispers as I put on my ruined jacket.

"What is it?"

"Not important." He waves off as he walks to the door. My hand flashes out and grabs him by the prongs hanging off his mouth light. "Please stop doing that." he sighs quickly.

"It is important!" I hiss. "I can't be fucking around! I was just in jail because I semi-tortured someone and was tried for murder, so unless you need help helping old ladies cross the street then I can't help you!"

"Don't worry, its legal, bosh'tet." He sneers as he pulls out of my grasp. "Now get your shit, and let's go."

"Fuckin asshole." I mutter as I grab my hat and lace up my boots. I open the door to Aila's and light pours into the apartment, I'm about to step out but Lorin stops me.

"Forgetting something?" he asks as he cocks his head.

"What?" I ask.

"Your gear." He answers like a should have known.

"I don't have _gear_." I jeer. "Where's your…" my voice trails off as I look at Lorin in the light. His matte black suit is covered with slim plates. One plate is covering his abdomen and is overlapped by a chest plate. He has the pauldrons from heavy armor on his shoulders and more plates covering his forearms and biceps. His legs are covered in the same plates, covering the most area possible without touching each other. All of these plates are a shiny glossy black with various scratches and dings from wear and tear, all of them are clipped into buckles on his actual suit that I never noticed before.

All and all, he looks pretty badass, the matte black under suit with white trim, topped with glossy black plates looks awesome. I notice an assault rifle poking over his shoulder and an odd looking plate hanging off a clip on his suit, it's just hanging off loosely. I'm about to ask what it is when he clips it off and raises it to his face, it's a face mask and it looks identical to Tali's alternate mask you get from dlc in Mass Effect 3 except it's a dark matte black. Once it clicks in, his reflective tinted mask can be seen through the slits in the plate, only increasing his badassery.

"Never mind." I say.

"Yeah, that's what I thought." He says in a cocky tone. "So you don't have any gear? No armor? No guns?"

"No." I say as we wait for the elevator door to close.

"Well let's go get you some." He nods.

"I don't have money, unless you want to buy it for me." I smirk.

"Nope." He says. "I'll get it for you, but I'll take the money from your cut." He snickers. "Besides, I can't have you looking like a bum. You need to look the part."

"And what would that part be?" I ask.

"Body guard, escorting some guy around, probably to clubs and bars." He shrugs as he raises his Omni-tool. "Here's the contract, sign it and you'll be allowed to do everything and anything as long as it's to protect the VIP." He finishes as my Omni-tool pings with the contract. I read it over before signing it, remembering what happened with Haynes.

"Is there even any armorers open this late?" I ask.

"It's only ten." He says as he shakes his head. "And I know a guy."

* * *

We arrive at the armorer and walk inside, the walls are littered with mannequins covered in armor, and some I recognize but the majority were never in the games. There's a lone krogan sitting behind the counter who stood up when he heard the door open but sat back down once he saw Lorin. The two went on talking, making jabs at each other like old friends do, which is odd between a krogan and quarian but whatever.

After a bit I'm called over, and the krogan nods to me as Lorin walk around browsing.

"The names Golum." He huffs. "Heard Lorin's paying your way, if I were you I'd take a picture." He grumbles.

"Maverick." I nod. "Yeah, he's using my money from the job he woke me up to do."

"Sounds like him. Follow me." he says as he wanders off into the shop and up to a suit on the wall. "Lorin said you're a biotic, this'll provide you decent protection with good mobility. You can wear whatever you want over it, Kevlar or plates. Try it on."

He tosses be the flat black skin tight suit, and I walk behind a courtesy curtain and take off all my clothes save my boxers. I stretch the suit over my body and connect the sealers running up the side of my torso like a zipper. Surprisingly the suit isn't that constricting, it's actually quite comfy. I walk out and Golum takes a look at me.

"This suit is completely sealed when you wear the right helmet, and hardens on impact, it should stop your average handgun but not much else. It also features an auto seal gel, if you get shot the gel tightens, keeping the seal and it helps stops wounds from bleeding."

"Sounds good, got anything to go over it?" I ask. "It's uhh, kinda revealing." I say as I look down at my crotch.

"Yeah, come here." He says as he walks to the other end of the store. I pass by Lorin and he looks at me for a second before laughing, I tell him to shut up and catch up to the krogan.

"What'd'ya got?" I ask.

"This should do." He says as he nods to set of light armor.

The armor reminds me of James alternate armor from Mass Effect 3, but looks less advanced. It has the chest plate that hangs over the shoulders and covers the top of your back. Under the chest is a plethora of pouches to hold explosives and other stuff. The arms are bare, and the legs are a tough looking pair of combat pants. The pants only have plates on the shins and knees with plated boots, the thighs have more pouches covering them. The pouches are a black fabric, with slight orange accents to help outline the openings.

"The armor has standard air system that links with the helmet." He says as he points to a small panel on the left shoulder blade, he then taps to a panel next to it that pops of revealing an empty slot. "This armor is unshielded but can be upgraded easily enough, but I wouldn't get the upgrade."

"Why not?" I ask, still eyeing the armor.

"Barriers and shields don't get along, if you try using both they won't work and you'll end up getting shot a lot." He shrugs. "I've heard a few asari matriarchs can keep the two up, but nobody else."

"Alright." I say as my focus turns to the helmet.

Now the helmet is something that's a bit different, the top half looks like a regular alliance helmet but the bottom doesn't have the sectioned piece, it's all one piece and is smoother like the rest of the helmet. It's a glossy black and has a black tinted visor, just like the chest plate and the shin plates. Where it's really different is it has a small antenna jutting back diagonally over the right ear, it looks like a smaller geth antenna. It also has a small camera looking thing on the right of the visor that juts out to the side but fades into the helmet before reaching the ear.

"This helmet features an advanced friend or foe heads up display that taps into your allies Omni-tools and tags them constantly with a live feed and monitors their vitals for you so you can keep tabs on them. It also has a weapons scanning system, if someone doesn't have a gun they're left unmarked, if they have a gun they're marked as a possible hostile. You have to actually look at them for a few seconds for it to scan, it's not on constantly." He says as he tossed it around in his hands. "It also has a long range communication system that outreaches standard Alliance communications."

"Looks good." I nod, impressed with the armor. It has a very "space merc" feel with all the pouches and minimal plating. It's very casually combat ready, like something that started out as regulation but was stripped away by an experienced take-no-nonsense soldier. "Got it in any other colors?" I ask, I like the black but you never know what else might look good.

"You can have it in any color you want." He nods as he grabs an armor case from under the display. "So long as its black." He adds with a smirk. Oh well.

"Sounds good, I'll take it." I say as I look around the store. "Do you have any additions? Like pauldrons or something?"

"Yeah, what are you looking for?"

"Well, I fancy the biotic charge and…"

"I know just what you need." He smiles as he walks into the back, in a few moments he walks out with a shoulder plate in hand. He puts it on the counter and I look at it, it's just a black pauldron but it has a raised rectangular knob jutting out from the center. "This is a new pauldron that Rosenkov Materials made with vanguards in mind, this raised knob focuses the force of your charge into this smaller surface area. Guaranteed to crack open any armor on the market, you want a left or a right?"

"Right." I tell him as I push the pauldron together with the armor case. "Got any gloves?"

"Yeah, I got gloves." He grunts as he pulls out a black pair of gloves. He pulls them out and they remind me of my paintball gloves, a black fabric with black plating in between the knuckles and a bigger plate covering the back of the hand. "Right or left?" he asks again.

"Right." I reply with a nod. "Why's it matter?" I ask.

"Your trigger finger doesn't have plates." He explains. "Keeps you from getting caught on your trigger guard."

"Sounds good!" I say as I clap my hands together. "Lorin! Pay the man!" I yell as I start to put on the armor. By the time it's all on, Lorin has paid for my armor with my future money and I look at myself in the mirror after packing my clothes in the armor case.

I look fucking awesome!

The black plated boots shins and kneepads over black combat pants and a pouch covered midsection under a plated chest and advanced optic helmet. The gel layer sleeves showing off my toned arms, keyword toned, not muscle, and plated gloves. All plates are an untouched glossy black and fabric is a dull greyish black. This is by far the coolest I have ever looked in my entire life!

I walk up to Lorin and open my arms off my sides in a "check me out" pose before spinning 360 degrees on my heel.

"I look fuckin good." I say in a smug tone.

"Yeah yeah, let's go." He says as he ignores me and walks to the door. "We've got half an hour to get you guns and to the VIP's place, let's not push it."

We walk less than a block to a gun shop and we walk into the shop. The walls are littered with weapons, all sealed behind glass and lit up nicely with small display lights. There's a batarian behind the counter who, surprisingly, doesn't bat an eye at the two black armored men walking in his shop. I guess that's the norm around here, this gun shop has a lot of top shelf gear.

"Welcome to Grash'shas Weapons." He greets as he leans on the counter in anticipation. "What can I do for you gentlemen today?"

"My friend here needs some hardware." Lorin motions to me.

"You've come to the right place." He smiles, his four eyes blinking as he walk around the counter towards us. He walk up to me and eyes my armor before speaking. "What's your fighting style kid?"

"I'm a biotic." I nod.

"Hmm, aren't biotic humans rare?" he asks, before I can answer he shakes his head. "Never mind, it's not important. If you're a biotic then you'll want to stay light, any extra weight or two handed weapons will make it harder to use your gestures."

"Don't worry about that." I say, waving my palm at him. "I prefer rifles or shotguns, I have the most experience with them." I nod. Granted, the rifles and shotguns I used are outdated by 125 years but its all the same in theory.

"Let's start with a rifle, what's your price range?" he asks as he walks to a wall of rifles.

"Low end." I say. "Nothing to fancy, I just need something that puts rounds downrange."

"I've got just the thing." He smiles as he activates him Omni-tool to open the glass protecting the rifles. He reaches down and picks out a weapon I've seen many times before. "This is the standard issue M7 Lancer, you could use this gun to dig a trench and it will still fire at the end of the day. Doesn't pack much punch but it's as reliable as they come, cheap too."

"I'll take it." I say.

The batarian shows me the rifles features, showing off the sighting system and the rails for attachments on the side. He also showed me how to use it, the safety is straight forward and the ammo block is super easy to change. I figured it out pretty easily, it's surprisingly not that different from weapons from my time except for the ammo block. The weapon folds up when it's attached to the magnetic strip on my back and unfolds when it's slid off.

"Anything else you need?" he asks as he rings up the rifle. "You mentioned shotguns?"

"Yeah, show me what you've got man." I say as I take off for the shotguns. He picks out a shotgun and hands it to me.

"This is the Katana shotgun." He says as I get a feel for the pistol grip shotgun. "Pretty standard equipment, decent heat sinks for a shotgun, you should get four or five rounds out before it needs to cool down."

"Ok." I say absent mindedly as I continue to hold the firearm. "I'll take it, just show me how to use it."

So he does, I learn about its ammo block and firing system as well as the safety and upgrade possibilities. Once we are all paid for, we head out the door and I remove the weapons from their cases and click them to my back.

"You sure I can just carry these around?" I ask, unsure of the firepower strapped to my back.

"Yeah, you're a private contractor now." He says as he calls a skycar. "Just don't be waving them around like a fucking asshole and you'll be fine. Now that you don't look completely useless we can head out." He says as he steps into a skycar, I follow him in and take a seat as Lorin keys in the address.

"So, how much of my pay do I have left?" I ask as I fiddle with my Omni-tool, trying to sync my HUD.

"You owe me, you went over by 500 creds" he says evilly.

"Really? How big was my pay for this gig?" I ask, stunned that I owe him money. That's not a big deal though, I can pay that back by giving him work instead.

"50,000 credits." He nods greedily. "The guy pays well for protection, I don't want to know why, I don't really care."

"Huh." I nod. That's a lot of cash I just spent. "Oh well, this armors badass and now I've got some weapons."

"I hope you know how to use those." He points out judgingly.

"Yeah I know how to use them." I sneer back. It's not hard, I've fired guns before. I just needed to find the safety, cocking mechanisms, and quick on-the-fly maintenance tips. I doubt I'll have any jams on brand new guns and on a dirt-less space station, but you never know.

I finally think I have my HUD set up and tap the sync button, I'm instantly greeted with an overwhelming amount of information. The HUD registers Lorin immediately as a known contact through my HUD and his pulse and other vitals are tucked away in the top left corner of my vision. Every time I look at them they grow bigger so I can see them but when I look away they dim and tuck away, it must track my pupils, this really is an advanced HUD.

"You better not fuck this up." Lorin says as he points at me.

"Fuck off." I snort. "How hard can it be?"

"Well, were going to be hanging around Chora's and other fine establishments, so we get to be on civilian duty." He explains, sounding unexcited. "Just keep your weapons holstered in the clubs and out on the street."

"Yeah, don't worry." I say as I look out the skycar window. "How hard can it be to guard some old shit?"

"How do you know he's old?"

"I just assumed, why how old is he?" I ask, turning back to him. I notice Lorin has a small green triangle over him, when I look the triangle it break open in a slick but simple animation lays out Lorin's name. This helmet is so cool!

"I don't know." He shrugs.

"What do you mean you don't know?" I snap.

"I don't know how I can make it any clearer." He says as he shakes his head at me.

"I swear to god Lorin…" I mumble angrily.

"Who cares?" he shouts with his arms outstretched. "It's good pay." he says as he relaxes in his seat. "Besides, what's the worst that could happen?"

* * *

"WOOOOOOO! Ouhh mah gaad, aer yue ma bodily gaardus? LAAAAANAAAAAA! LOOOK AT AR GAAARDS! HAHAAAA!"

"Look I didn't-"

"Fuck you Lorin, just, fuck you."

**R/R**

**tylerbamafan34: Yeah, family first no matter what. Thanks!**

**Spiritstike: But deals with the devil are so much more interesting than normal deals! I thought TIM was ok in ME2 for the most part, everything he did he did for a reason. Hell even in ME3 he keeps telling Kia Leng not to kill Shepard, so there is good in there, you just have dig through a bunch of shit to get to it! He never got truly evil till he brought the human reaper to his base, he was just asking to be indoctrinated! And I don't mind, it was just weird to see an email on my phone that says I got a review from Spiritstrike and it doesn't get cut off because it's too long! ;) **

**V-rcingetorix: Thanks, his character made me a bit nervous but I'm glad you liked it! Yeah he has been lifting pallets of stuff for a living, but there were ten guards at least. I know me and ten or eleven of my friends can all pick up a small car (my buddy had a Toyota Echo and we would always turn it sideways in parking lots!) so I think they could carry him. Miranda is always ready for anything, she defiantly knew about Mavs powers ahead of time, thus why she wanted to see him for herself and make sure he got on the ship. Man, I don't know why, but when I read krogan with a tutu I laughed so hard! And I would say vanguard for sure, defiantly not a lot of finesse from the biotic brawler! Thanks man!**

**Orchidellia: Thank you! I was worried about that scene, it's probably the longest action scene so far in the story. And thanks again! The ME characters are important and I'll try to keep them cannon, I always found TIM more relaxed in early ME2 and he started to ramp up the intensity as it got to the endgame. Thanks for reading!**

**PoseidonN7: Thanks, and I don't think TIM ever really lets people go, he just keeps tabs on them. Thanks man, and thanks for the review!**

**masterdude94: Thanks man! To be honest I think it was about what he could give TIM, not just purely charisma. Broadway might be able to talk his way out of it though! Thanks for the review!**

**general-joseoh-dickson: Thanks man, I think Miri came out of her shell in ME2 because of Shepard. I always pictured her as more of a by-the-book character before ME2. **

**Wolfshark: More like making all the wrong friends in TIM's case! Thanks, the next chapter is going to feature a lot of Lorin-Mav shenanigans if you couldn't tell by the ending! Thanks for the review as always! **

**CrimsonKnight117: Hehe, yeah she is! ;) And yeah probably, Cerberus is always a nice shit stirrer. You think so? I thought it would be less important to him, a good attention getter but nothing crazy like predicting the future. Thanks for the review man, I'll try!**

**XRaiderV1: Yeah for sure! It's kinda like a Biotic White Phosphorus bomb, look up white phosphorus bombs and injuries at your own discretion if you don't know what that is. It's pretty brutal! **

**SoMuchGerry: The story is getting close to ME1, if I had to guess, maybe 5 or 6 chapters? And I think 5000ish words is a decent chapter, plus my update rate is pretty decent, the longest gap was five days I think. Don't worry, combat OC's are on the way. Besides, Lorin's here already and technically Pac's turian so he has military experience… anyway, thanks for reading man!**

** .77: Haha, thanks man! Hope you liked the new chapter, not that eventful, just the standard "how you get weapons and armor" chapter but the next one should be some good fun! I will try!**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Hey guys, here's another chapter for you! Not much to say really. On another note, I saw **_**The Edge of Tomorrow **_**with **_**Tom Cruise**_** who is, in my opinion, one of the best actors to have ever been on the big screen. Even if you don't like the guy off camera, he is up there on the list of greatest actors. The movie was pretty great, probably one of my favorite movies that came out this year next to **_**Spiderman.**_

**Chapter 12  
**-This, This Is The Worst That Could Happen-

I give Lorin the dirtiest look I can muster as the drunken kid and his friends scream and parade about like fools. Eventually they manage to find their way back into the apartment. Lorin continues to avoid looking at me as I stare at him. I see movement out of the corner of my eye and I turn to see a well-dressed older man walk up to the two of us, my helmet scanning him for weapons as I look at him.

"Hello." He greets as my HUD clears him with a soft beep, this might take a bit to get used to. "I am Mr. Jones, I apologize for my sons behavior."

"It's ok Mr. Jones." I sigh as I shoot another glare at Lorin.

"No, it's not ok." he shakes his head in disappointment. "My son has got used to the soft living I have provided for him, I have spoiled him. But he is still my son, and I still love him, hence why you are here."

"When do you want him back?" Lorin asks, cutting to the chase.

"Six in the morning should be fine." The man nods.

"If I may ask sir." I say, a hint of suspicion hanging off my voice. "Why do you need us to watch your son? Is there something we should be expecting?"

I see Lorin flick me an odd look as if to say _who cares_ while the old man sighs.

"I have acquired my wealth through means I'm not proud of, I came here to escape the terminus system but I fear we have been targeted by old associates." He tells me. "Something I'm taking care of, but it will take time."

"Didn't need your life story…" Lorin mutters, causing the old man to glare at him. "Who's after you?"

"Do not worry about my problems."

"Says the guy who just told us about your problems." Lorin muttered loud enough for the man to hear. "I just need a name."

"Ja'Gresh." The man says, hesitating to tell Lorin the name.

"Will you be ok here?" I ask, trying to draw his focus away from Lorin who is giving me another _who cares_ look.

"I'll be fine." He waves off. "I just need you to watch my son."

"Yes sir." I nod. Lorin doesn't say anything as he walks into the house to get the kid.

I stand there awkwardly as I wait for Lorin to get the man's son, I hear drunken yelling burst out from the house and glass breaking before Lorin joins in the yelling match. The old man looks disappointed as his son staggers out of the house with his friends, Lorin shaking his head as he follows them out.

"Omigod there's anotha one!" a girl screeches as she stumbles towards me. She's dressed incredibly slutty, her dress was basically a strip of leather covering her boobs and another covering her ass, the two connected by another strip of leather winding around her body like a spiral staircase. Her makeup was so thick it looked like someone did it as a joke and her hooker boots stopped at her thigh.

"Bro!" Another voice speaks up. "No way bro! Bro check out this body-bro!" he slurs as he points at me.

I turn to my new annoyance to see a guy dressed in a bright red suit with a matching fedora tilted down his forehead at a 45 degree angle, if I had to guess. When he walked he rotated his shoulders like an elliptical machine with each step. He sets the bar for douchbags everywhere.

Then the son runs past everyone, yelling with his arms outstretched. This of course, causes slutty and d-bag to do the same, screaming and running around for no apparent reason. They eventually scream their way to a rapid transit terminal and start yelling and pointing at it. Lorin walks over to me and we start to walk off after them.

"This is it." I say to him without making eye contact.

"What are you fucking talking about?" he huffs.

"The worst that could happen." I state as we enter the skycar, which already reeks of liquor. "This is it."

"Naa." He shakes his head. "The night is still young Mav, give it time, this is probably going to get a lot worse."

"That's comforting."

* * *

We end up arriving a few blocks from Chora's Den, and only after seven drunken sing-alongs and two puke related accidents. Our intoxicated clients got us a few dirty looks, hell who am I kidding, all we got were dirty looks. Luckily nobody caused trouble. Although one batarian made me nervous after my HUD pinged him as armed with a weapon, even though it ranked it as a pistol it still put me on edge.

"_-Hey, can you believe these assholes?-_" Lorin's voice cracks through my helmet, surprising me enough to jump. A small icon pops up on the top right of my HUD and I try to activate it, but it says I need to sync through my Omni-tool. After a few seconds of that, I manage to make a private communication with Lorin.

"Yeah." I say back through the mic. "They're all a bunch of assholes, then there's you." I say, watching Lorin as he walks in front of the son and his friends.

"_-Ha, yeah I… what do you mean, then there's me?-_"

"_You_." I sneer in a low voice. "_You_ broke into my friend's apartment, almost waking her up. _You_ woke me up, jamming your E.T finger into my eye. _You_ take me out late at night, when I have to work tomorrow. _You_ give me a job, protecting this asshole, slut-girl and d-bag."

"_-Hey bosh'tet, a couple things.-_" Lorin says, now looking at me and pointing past the drunks."_-One, I didn't break in, I just… borrowed entrance. Two, what is E.T? Three, you hate your job and this is way more interesting then sleeping. Four, don't make fun of slut-girl, I like slut-girl. She's hot. Five, I…-_"

"What?" I cough into the mic. "Nonono, go back to four! Did you say slut-girl is hot? Look at her!" I shout in disbelief, pointing to the girl who still hasn't mastered the art of walking.

"_-Did you see that dress? Of course I looked at her!-_" Lorin motions to her, her hips swaying ridiculously wide as she staggers about, trying to look "sexy". I watch as she leans over and start yelling gibberish, something about drinking I think. Then her face tightens and she heaves over, when she leans up her cheeks are filled with what I can only assume is vomit. "_-She's so cute!-_"

I raise my brow at him but my attention is drawn back to the idiots walking a few feet in front of me. The son and d-bag has started a slurred chant, methodically saying "Chug!" faster and faster until she swallows the bile in her mouth and sticks out her tongue causing the other two to cheer.

"Yeah, she's fuckin adorable." I snort as we all round the corner, the neon asari glowing in the distance.

We are about to enter the bar when we are stopped by a krogan bouncer who asked us to leave our weapons with him. Lorin shows him our contacting licenses and the bouncer lets us in, though not with a smile.

Chora's Den is absolutely packed, people shoulder to shoulder. There are tons of dancers on the stages and liquor on the tables. The music shakes my insides, like a fighter jet flying overhead. The music sounds like a fast paced dubstep disco. It's actually not half bad, although it's a little loud for my liking and I love listening to my music loud. We immediately pack the three Stooges close together and start pushing our way through the crowd.

Lucky for us, the three drunkateers managed to get us a booth. They all pile in around the dancer and order a slew of drinks as Lorin and I post ourselves at either end of the booth. I quickly become annoyed of the "omigods" and "bros" erupting from the booth and start scanning people in the crowd with my HUD. Every single bouncer is packing some sort of heat and a few civilians have pistols on them, one guy even had a grenade but as long as he stays on the other side of the club I don't care.

The HUD keeps track of each person with a weapon, a small yellow dot highlighting them. I start going through the manual for the HUD and find that it doesn't include radar, they subbed it out for the specific person tracking program. Not a bad trade if you ask me, I would rather have specific people marked constantly. I can't see behind me though, it only highlights people who are in my field of vision.

I realize I might not be home when Aila wakes up, so I start to write her a message. I tell her about Lorin's job and say I should be back before morning, hitting _note_ and not _message_ so I don't wake her. Just as the silent note sends I cringe as a shrill sound attacks my ears.

"Omigod! Let's do shots!" I here slutty yell behind me, followed by a parade of "bros" and "dudes". God I can't stand these people.

"_-I like these guys.-_" Lorin chimes in my ear. "_-They may be a bunch of annoying assholes, but they know how to party.-_"

"Are you serious?" I say in a condescending tone. "Don't get me wrong, I like a drink now and then but these people are idiots."

"_- Yeah. -_" He sighs, shooting a quick glance in the booth. "_-They are.-_"

"BRO! SHOTS BRO!" d-bag shouts as the half-naked bartender brings a tray full of shots to the booth.

"_Nyaah _shots bro!" I mimic in a low obnoxious voice. "Fuckin idiot."

"_-You really don't like these guys do you?-_"

"No." I deadpan. "I don't, their existence irks me."

"_-I don't like the other two, but I like Lana.-_" he nods, looking back at the group before returning to the crowd watching.

"Lana? How do you know her name?"

"_- The VIP was screaming it when we first got there, don't you pay attention?-_"

"Oh yeah. Hey speaking of Lana, you said she was hot. What's up with that man?" I ask. "You into humans?"

"_-Look-_" Lorin says quietly. "_-You're a nice guy but…-_"

"Shut the fuck up Lorin!" I laugh. "You know what I mean, you're quarian and she's human. Isn't that frowned upon by the fleet?"

"_-Who cares if she's human?-_" he asks. "_-Her hips could be a bit wider I guess, but I'm not a picky man like you, which by the way, I don't think you can afford to be picky.-_"

"Asshole." I smile. "How can you like her though, personality I get, you two are perfect for each other, but she's just… dirty." I shudder.

"_-I have a shining personality I'll have you know, and Lana's a classy girl.-_"

As if on cue, Lorin and I both turn to look into the booth just in time to see Lana try to drink a shot. She misses and pours the drink down her neck and cleavage and without missing a beat, pushes up her boobs and dives in face first after the liquor, causing the other two idiots to cheer.

"Oh yeah, I'm sure she just stepped out of Buckingham Palace for a quiet eve." I say sarcastically.

"_-I don't know what a Buckingham Palace is, but I do know your being a smartass.-_" he says, pointing at me sharply.

I come to a realization, more of a theory really, but nonetheless I think I'm right and that makes me smile.

"Is it…" I cock my head at Lorin as he stares at me. "Is it because she's dirty? Is that a quarian fetish or something?"

My smile grows as I see Lorin's eyes widen before shooting in the opposite direction and down to the floor.

"_-No!-_" he blurts out quickly, correcting his stance and straightening up. "_-That's stupid, what would make you think that?-_" he stutters. This is the first time I've seen Lorin get truly agitated, it couldn't be funnier.

"Holy shit it is!" I say excitedly. "It makes sense! You guy are always in those suits and in clean rooms, it make sense that a dirty girl like our Lana here gets you going!" I snicker, Lorin shifting uncomfortably on the spot. I lean forward and draw his attention and whisper to him. "It's the ultimate quarian taboo, isn't it?"

"_-Shut up!-_" he snaps. "_-That's none of your business!-_" he huffs, clearly flustered.

"It's ok man!" I laugh as I shake my head. "Everyone's got quirks, no matter who you are." I console.

"_-Shut. Up.-_" he seethes.

"Wow, never thought I'd see you get so worked up." I nod as I go back to scanning the crowd.

"_-You'd get worked up too if I bugged you about your fetishes.-_" he pouts. There's a pause before he speaks again. "_-What's your fetish?-_"

"I'm not telling you." I snort.

"_-Why not?-_"

"Because I'm not an _idiot._" I snarl, stressing idiot as I stare at him.

"_-You know what?-_" he sighs. "_-I uhh, I don't like you.-_" he says casually with a half shrug.

* * *

The rest of our time at Chora's Den was relatively uneventful so to speak. Ivan came up and told us off about touching the dancers, I don't think he recognized me in my armor though. Apparently they started doing body shots off the dancer at our booth, but wanted to keep going after there were no more shots. I told Ivan there wouldn't be any more problems and he left with a stern warning, I think the only reason he didn't throw us out is because there were others who needed to be kicked out first.

We left Chora's at about one in the morning, it took Lorin and I ten minutes to push through the crowd of people and get the VIP and his friends out of the Den. Once we were out on the street we moved a lot quicker, the mention of another club called Enter was mentioned and we headed off at the speed of stagger.

One block away from the club I noticed a change, I don't know exactly when it happened but the change was clear. I noticed Lorin walking differently, before he swayed around with a cat-like arrogance, his head casually swiveling around looking for trouble. Now though, he walked with professionalism in mind, which is odd from the quarian merc. He griped his weapon tightly as he marched forward, his head swiveling almost robotically as he scanned for danger.

It makes me nervous.

"Hey." I say through our private channel. "You ok?"

He looks around again before answering me. "_-No, we are being followed.-_" I'm about to turn around when Lorin speaks up again. "_-Don't look. There're three of them right now, they're all wearing matching black suits that look padded, probably armor underneath.-_"

"How do you know they are following us?"

"_-Motion tracker. I didn't think anything when I saw the first one start following us, by the third one I started to doubt they were just out for a stroll.-_"

"What do we do?"

"_-We get to the club, they won't try anything there.-_" he says as we round a corner. "_-The guy in black on our right, the one leaning outside the café. Check him for weapons.-_"

I look to our right and find the man Lorin's talking about, the guys posted himself against a wall right next to the door of the café. I look at him for a bit until my HUD starts to scan the guy, after about five seconds it beeps twice, indicating a weapon has been identified and marks the man with a yellow icon.

"He's got a pistol, you were right." I say as I look away from the goon, just before he drifts out of my peripheral vision I see him push off the wall to follow us.

"_-Of course I was right.-_" he scoffs. "_-That scanner's pretty useful, worth the extra money.-_"

"How much extra did I pay for it?" I ask, now wondering how I could go through 50,000 for just armor and weapons.

"_-A lot, it just got out of the prototype stage.-_" he says as we approach the clubs entrance. "_-The new tech is always the most expensive.-_"

"How much was it? You paid for it, do you have the receipt?" I ask as the three drunken idiots line up and Lorin and I put them between the wall of the club and us. Lorin brings up his Omni-tool and starts sifting through it, quickly finding the receipt.

"_-The armor and weapons were priced reasonably enough, but you got fucked on the helmet.-_" he tells me as he closes his Omni-tool. "_-No way I would've paid 20,000 creds for a helmet.-_"

Normally I would be mad, furious even, but I'm not. I don't owe anybody anything for the armor and now I'm ready for Shepard, whenever he or she decides to show up. Saleon should be massaging me any day now and then all my problems will be over, then I can start making a difference.

"That's because you're cheap." I respond. "So far it was worth it, so what do I care?"

"_-Whatever you say Mav.-_" Lorin shrugs as we walk into the club, the techno assaulting us the moment the door opens.

This club looks almost exactly the same as Chora's Den, dancers all over the stages and people everywhere. The techno here is a bit darker, which fits the seedier club better than the music in Chora's would've. It takes us a few minutes to be seated at a booth because Lorin decided to argue with the bouncer about the weapons we brought, but he gets its sorted eventually.

I start to methodically scan people in the crowd while Lorin and I shoot the shit, making fun of each other constantly. When we aren't poking fun at each other we are making fun of the people in the club, namely the dancers. They aren't the most beautiful creatures in the universe, the human girls anyway. The asari girls are pretty good looking, though now that I think about it I've never seen an ugly asari. I wonder if there are traits in asari that make them not good looking, even if there are any I probably wouldn't care anyway.

The human girls are… seasoned, and not in age. They tried to fix this by having them naked but it made it worse if anything, something's are better left to the imagination, and others are best not imagined at all. The asari are naked too though, so I take the good with the bad, mostly because I have no choice.

They are making it harder to scan people though, I mean, I'm not _not_ going to look, at my core I'm just a caveman like every other male. Hardwired for food, water, sleep, and sex. Don't get me wrong, I feel like an ass for staring, the gentleman in me feels bad for objectifying women. But the caveman thanks the gods my visor's tinted.

* * *

Lorin's Omni-tool pings, drawing my attention from the stage. I watch as he glances at it before it fades away.

"_-Time to get these guys home and get paid.-_" he sighs, looking at the drunken fools.

"How are we going to do it? Just shuffle them out and toss them in a skycar?" I ask.

"_-We also have the goons outside to deal with, it can't be any harder than trying to get these guys to leave this club. -_" Lorin says as he taps the VIP on the shoulder. "Time to go!" he shouts over the music.

Surprisingly, the three idiots stand up and start to follow Lorin, who is now parting the drunks like Moses parted the red sea. I follow them closely, drawing my Lancer as we leave the club while Lorin draws his own rifle. Lorin's rifle seems more advanced than mine, I don't remember all of the names of the rifle types but I know it looks like the Vindicator so it's up there.

When we turn around the next corner, four men dressed in black are all standing around a few hundred feet ahead of us. There are two per side, clearly ready for an ambush or roadblock of some sort. I tense up when we see them while Lorin readies himself, his experience clearly dwarfing mine.

"_-Don't fire until it happens.-_" he says through my helmet.

"When what happens?" I ask, not sure what he's talking about.

"_-You'll know.-_" Lorin says quietly, failing to make me feel better about the situation.

"Great." I mutter, more to myself then Lorin. As we near I start to scan them one by one, each one pinging as they're marked with a yellow dot. "They all have guns." I state as we walk towards them.

"_-No shit.-_" he snaps. "_-What do they have?-_"

"All pistols." I reply, not bothering to engage Lorin's jab.

Once we get twenty feet away from the goons, they all spread out across the street and stop us when we try to pass. I pull the three drunks back behind me and stand next to Lorin. The tension in the air is incredibly thick, each one of us knowing what's about to happen, just waiting for someone to make the first move.

"Here he is." Lorin says, thumbing back at the VIP. The goons look just as confused as I am, what the hell is Lorin talking about?

"What?" the closest goon asks.

"You didn't think Ja'Gresh would trust you amateurs to get this done did you?" Lorin chuckles. "You're just the pickup, we're the insurance."

The goons look among themselves, not sure what to do, just like me. Is Lorin playing them, or is he stabbing Mr. Jones in the back? What the hell is this asshole getting me into?

"Alright, give him here." The goon says as he points at the VIP. Lorin doesn't hesitate to push him over to them, what the fuck is he doing? Once the goons have him they start to relax, mimicking the now casual stance Lorin has gone back to. "We'll contact Ja'Gresh and let him know everything went smoothly."

"Oh, hold on." Lorin says as he raises his finger to get them to pause, rifling through his pouches as they wait. "Here, he wanted to talk to you now."

He finally pulls something out of one of his pouches and I cock my head when my HUD starts scanning it. Lorin places the thing in the goons hand just as my HUD identifies the object with a small text box.

**Weapon Identified:** Explosive Ordinance, Low Yield  
**Class:** Flashbang

"_-Cover your eyes.-_"

I barely manage to bury my head into the inside of my elbow as the flashbang goes off, scorching the goons hand while blinding the rest. I hear several shots go off before I can look up and raise my weapon. I see the two goons on the right buckle as the bullets smash through their kneecaps, bringing them down hard. My rifle shifts to the goon with the burnt hand, trying to fight the pain as he grasps at his eyes.

My finger slides from the safety and lingers on the trigger as I aim for his head, but I can't find the heart to end his life. Despite killing five people already, I can't kill this man. The other times were different, I was forced into those situations, running on adrenaline. This time it's all me, I have a clear head and have a choice. So I make a choice. My weapon droops and I fire a small burst, the recoil pushing against my shoulder as the bullets sink into the man's leg.

He starts to go into shock, his body unable to manage the pain from his hand, eyes, and leg. I look away from him to see Lorin fighting the last goon, who surprisingly had enough sense to cover his eyes. I see the goons hand swing wide behind Lorin, causing his rifle to clatter across the floor. I watch the rifle come to a stop and look back to Lorin, ready to help, but Lorin's doing just fine without me.

Lorin blocks another blow with his left forearm and roughly grabs the goons shoulder, with a quick tug he slams his knee into the goons stomach. As the goon doubles over Lorin keeps his grip on his shoulder and props his arm against his own, locking it in place. I watch Lorin lean over the goons back, slowing as his shoulder resists before a loud pop fills the air.

Lorin casually drops the man and walks over to his rifle and scoops it of the ground, leaving the goon grasping at his dislocated shoulder. He walks back to me as he slings his rifle over his shoulder.

"Help me get their ammo blocks." He says as he nods his head back to the defeated goons.

"Why?" I ask as I walk up to the first one.

"So they won't shoot at us when we leave." He says, stopping to give me an annoyed look. "Don't you know anything?"

"No I mean why would we bother with taking them out." I state as I lean down and grip the man's pistol in my hand, a warp immediately clinging to the gun as it eats away at the metal. I drop it on the ground, letting the warp do its thing and I walk to the next guy. "Don't you know anything?" I mimic.

"Yeah well, I don't have biotics." He replies in a sneer, reaching for another pistol on the ground. I quickly flick a throw at the weapon, lobbing it towards me just before Lorin grabs it. He turns his head with an annoyed huff as I catch the gun and melt it with a warp.

"I feel sorry for you." I smirk as I let the ruined pistol clatter to the ground.

"Ass." Lorin mutters before looking around. "Speaking of asses."

I follow his gaze to see the VIP rolling around on the ground, covering his eyes as he moans. I smile at that as I turn to find the other two idiots. The ass in the red suit has the face you get when you look at your phone in the middle of the night, stumbling about with his hands out saying "Broooooooooooooo…"

Our classy Lana is passed out on the floor, I guess she passed out before the flashbang because she is out _cold_. I look back to see Lorin, an idiot on each arm, walking towards a rapid transit terminal. My eyes dart back to Lana before shouting back to Lorin.

"Hey! What do I do with her?"

"Grab her!" he shouts back. "My hands are full!"

"You left her for me on purpose!" I yell as I shuffle towards the unconscious drunk.

"Use you _biotics_!" He jeers. "Ass!"

"Goddamn asshole." I mutter to myself as I try to figure out how to pick up Lana. I decide on a fireman carry and I reach down and lower her mass before draping her over my shoulder with one arm, making me look stronger then I actually am. By the time I catch up a skycar is already landing, Lorin lining up the VIP and SquintyMagee so he can easily push them into the skycar.

"Nice date." He laughs as he sees me carrying the unconscious woman over my shoulder. "You're such a gentleman."

"Shut up." I snap, as Lorin piles the drunks into the two front seats of the car. Lorin scuttles to the far rear seat and I sling her in between the seats and sit in the last seat. "Why didn't you tell me what you were doing?" I say, suddenly remembering his little flashbang stunt from earlier.

"I was kicking ass." He says, nodding victoriously. "Learned that trick back on Omega."

"You almost blinded me you asshole!" I shout.

"Yeah I know." He nods. "You were two quick though." He says with a hint of regret, like he wanted to blind me.

I'm about to call Lorin a piece of shit when I notice Lana stir. She turns her head to me and I see her start to heave, I quickly press two fingers on her chin and divert the vomit fountain away from me, right onto Lorin. The puke sprays from her mouth thorian creeper style all over his side and leg.

"AUUGGH!" he yells in disgust as I try to contain my laughter. "WHAT THE FUCK!" I start laughing hysterically as Lorin frantically tries to wipe the puke off of himself, he gives up on shaking the puke off his hands and starts wiping it on Lana's leg. "Fucking bosh'tet! What the fuck! Why did you do that?"

"Oh man!" I snicker. "I guess I'm just too quick eh?"

"Bosh'tet!" he curses again as he wipes more puke onto Lana.

"What, she not dirty enough for you?" I ask, returning into another fit of laughter.

"Shut up!" Lorin yells, angered by my comment and the vomit. I continue to laugh as the skycar makes its way back to Mr. Jones house.

* * *

We drop of the VIP at his house and we take the car back to Aila's house, Lorin not talking to me the whole way there and leaving without a goodbye. He'll get over it. I grab my armor and weapon cases and head up the elevator.

As the door opens I walk into the apartment and set my things down next to the coat rack. I check my Omni-tool to see it's almost seven in the morning, Aila's bed is empty so I assume she is somewhere in here. I turn as the door to the bathroom slides open and Aila comes out wearing a towel, she hastily prances to one of her drawers, trying not to drip water all over the floor. She grabs some clothes and turns around but stops when I catch her eye.

I cock my head when I notice she looks terrified, frozen in fear like a deer caught in the headlights. I wonder what's wrong with her until I see myself in the reflection off the TV, still wearing my merc armor and weapons.

Before I can say anything she makes a mad dash for the bathroom, closing the door behind her. I sigh as I walk over to the door, hearing her breathing heavily as I get closer. My Omni-tool pings as I scoop up her clothes from the floor and I smirk when I see it's from Aila, apparently some thug has broken into her apartment and she wants to know where I am.

I lean on the door and wrap my knuckles on the door, deciding not to yell _Heeeeeeere's Johnny!_ and opening the door.

"Hey Aila." I call through the door. There's a long pause before she answers.

"James?" she calls back quietly.

I turn my eyes away and open the door, holding out her clothes while I smirk behind my helmet. "You dropped your clothes."

I'm surprised when I feel something impact the side of my head. I turn my head back to see an angry Aila, holding up her towel with one hand and using her free hand to lash out at me.

"Don't… you…. ever… do… that… again!" She yells, hitting me after each word. I can't help but giggle as a retreat, Aila chasing after me. "Do you think that's funny? I almost had a heart attack!" she yells as she stomps back into the bathroom after snatching up her clothes.

I try to quell my laughter as I take off my helmet and place it on the table. I unsecure my chest piece and place it gently next to my helmet before taking of the under-vest that has all of the pouches on it. I drape it over a chair and am now down to my plate boots, combat pants, and gloves.

My Omni-tool pings as I pull the gloves off my hands which are still covered in the under suit. As I check my Omni-tool I see it's exactly seven in the morning when the message arrived. I open it up and read it to myself.

_Mr. Matticks_

_It's ready._

_Dr. Saleon_

I stare at the message for a few moments, amazed at how two words can change my entire mood. Those two little words are about to change not only my life, but my friends lives as well. I hear the bathroom door open behind me as I continue to stare at the message.

"And another thing!" Aila yells as she stomps her way back to me. "Why didn't you…" her voice trails off as I turn to look at her, my body language alone causing her to stop in her tracks. "What's wrong?" she asks in a concerned tone.

"Call the guys." I say as I start to pull my gloves back on and flex my hands. "It's time."

**R/R**

**tylerbamafan34: What do you mean by character bashing? My characters, other authors characters, characters in other medias? Or something else? I actually just watched the 3****rd**** Transformers movie the other day, it was alright. The first Transformers was pretty good, the second was atrocious, and the new one with Markey Mark looks good. I take it you're a fan of Transformers?**

**CrimsonKnight117: I don't think TIM would care a whole lot, I doubt he has family he needs to protect and if he did, he could stop pretty much anybody from hurting them. Yup, Mavs all suited up and combat ready, or at least he looks combat ready. Do you think the other races have a form of jinxing, or is it specific to humans? I always wonder about little things like that. Once again, thank you for the review sir!**

**V-rcingetorix: God no! Haha, I have to make three stories first before I can Lucus it! And that's an interesting idea, the Novaria thing, I like it but I already have a plan set to meet Shepard which cannot change much. You'll see why when it happens! I think 5k is pretty decent too, I set it as a rough goal but never really let it limit me, it's just where I end up when I'm done a chapter. I tried having a cushion but I couldn't help but put it out so I could hear what people think, I get just as excited by hearing from the readers as I do when just writing the story! I will try sir, thank you for the review!**

** .77: Thanks man! Here are your shenanigans, as promised!**

**Kaiya Smith: No, I have another plan for meeting Shepard, although another interesting idea! Yeah, I plan to have a lot of friction between Mav and Garrus because who doesn't love conflict. Na, karmas for people who like to complain about their problems instead of fixing them, and Fallout of course! Cerberus was bad enough with the intel they had, the idea of having them being able to accurately predict the future is scary. And don't worry, I've fixed the Lancer/Avenger thing. You can sleep now!**

**ultimate idiot: No, I live in the country so I see enough old hillbillies.**

**masterdude94: Thanks! I don't think Mavs worried about attaining new debt, he's already in the red after all. I planned on the whole 50k armor being explained in this chapter a bit, if my numbers are off just chalk it up to space taxes!**

**general-joseph-dickson: Good guess, but no, not this time.**

**XRaiderV1: Haha, I think Lorin got what he deserved!**

**Spiritstrike: Yup! In my mind its similar to the Cerberus Ajax armor in the ME3 dlc, it was by far my favorite armor. I never used the shotguns either, not until I started using the vanguard class. The shotgun is the vanguards bible, especially when your primary ranged weapon is your charge! Nope, just a throw away OC, but once again I am surprised at the interesting ideas people are having, guarding Harkin would have been interesting! Spiritstrike, Cerberus is humanity, trust them, let them in, believe in them and they will believe in you! Come to the dark side, we have Martin Sheen! And thanks, always good to hear from ya!**

**Orchidellia: I've never heard of those, I'll check em out though! I like Lorin too, he's pretty fun to write so he's here to stay!**

**noone297: Nope, but that'd be a cool idea. Especially if he had to guard him when Shepard and Wrex showed up!**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Here it is boys and girls, here's Chapter 13, lucky number 13! I finished this chapter up yesterday when I was watching the world cup, specifically the Russia/Korea game. The Russian keeper should be embarrassed he let that shot roll up his gloves, he really should be. The Brazil/Mexico game was absolutely phenomenal! Mexico's keeper probably made the best save of the Cup so far, I was hoping Mexico would come out on top but ending the game nil all sent a pretty good message to Brazil. Now if you'll excuse me, the Aussies are playing the Netherlands (Go Australia!) in 15 minutes so I have to go watch that. In fact I think I'm going to call all the matches for today. Aussies'll beat the Netherlands, Spain will beat Chile, and the Croa's will beat Cameroon. Its 11:41 as I type this in Southern Ontario Canada time, you are all my witnesses! Now that my football rant is done, you may read this chapter, enjoy! **

**Chapter 13  
**-Worth Every Credit-

I throw my shirt over my gel skin armor before pulling my jacket on. I replace my plate boots with my regular boots and leave my helmet on the table. I decided not to take of the gel armor mainly because I didn't want to go through the hassle of peeling it of my body and because my track record for getting injured has been pretty good. I take the magnetic shotgun strip off of my vest and secure it around my waist under my shirt before I snap my Katana onto the holster, making sure it's hidden under my jacket.

Once I'm fully clothed I flex my hands as I pull my gloves tighter, trying to psych myself up as Aila types away on her Omni-tool. She finishes and then walks into the kitchen, continuing her morning rituals as she pours two cups of coffee.

"Are they ready to go?" I ask as I grab my cup of coffee, nodding a thanks to Aila.

"Yes, Pakiev and Broadway are ready." She nods as she sips her coffee nervously.

"And Saylem?" I ask after I down the coffee hastily, ready to go take care of this.

"He's on his way." She says, looking at the floor as she starts to tap her foot.

"Why is he coming here?" I ask as I hang my hat off my head and double check my shotgun.

"I'm not sure." she shakes her head, still zoning out as she stares at the floor.

I walk up to her and place grip her shoulders, snapping her out of her trance. "Hey. It's going to be fine." I say, trying console her. "I promise."

"How can you know that?" she asks suddenly. "What if everything goes wrong?"

"Well." I stammer, thrown off by the question. "I assume we would go to some sort of prison." I smile, trying to make a joke because I have no idea how to answer a question like that.

"That's not funny." She says, trying to hide her smile and remain serious. "How can you be joking at a time like this?" She says sternly as she manages to collect herself.

"I try not to take things to seriously." I smile as I pat her shoulder. "Keeps me from going insane." I wink before bringing my coffee cup to the dishwasher.

"I don't know how you stay so calm." She says as she sits down at the kitchen table. "I'm actually shaking!" she says as she holds out her hand to illustrate her point.

"I never really get nervous and if I do I hide it." I shrug. "I don't see how it would help being nervous, it just makes you make mistakes."

"Aren't you afraid?"

"Now that's different." I say, wagging my finger in the air. "Fear is good, it keeps you alert!"

"You didn't answer my question." She says with a sly smirk.

"Caught that eh?" I smile, before I can take another whack at her question the door to the apartment opens and Saylem walks in. "Hey Saylem, what's going on man?"

Saylem just blinks at my question, staring at me for a moment before speaking. "I'm coming with you to Dr. Saleon's."

"Why?" I ask as I walk to the door. "Not that I mind."

"I wish to see Saleon's experiment."

"Alright, let's go then." I as say as I rub my hands together. I turn back to Aila and walk backwards out the door. "Thanks for the coffee Aila, we'll try not to get incarcerated." I call out as the door closes.

"Why would we try to get incarcerated?" Saylem asks as we ride the elevator down the building.

"It was a joke Saylem." I sigh. There's a long pause before Saylem speaks up again.

"I know." He says quietly. "I was being sarcastic."

I give Saylem a surprised look before smiling at turning back to the elevator door.

"Well look at you, coming out of your shell are we?"

"No."

* * *

Saylem and I get to Saleon's clinic in just under fifteen minutes, as we step out of the skycar and start to walk to the clinic I get more and more anxious. This is the last hurdle before I'm ready for the Normandy and if I fuck it up then it's basically the end of the road for me. I'll get stuffed into some jail, break out, put in a special biotic jail, break out of that too, and then I'll probably be put in a cryo prison like Jack. Ironically my only saving grace would be Cerberus helping me, hell I might even be the anti-Jack, just a Cerberus preaching mentally stable biotic.

The doors to the clinic slide open and I walk up to the receptionist as Saylem hangs back, looking around as if he's trying to memorize every detail.

"I'm here to see Dr. Saleon." I say as I lean on his desk with my elbow. The receptionist makes an entry in his terminal before looking up at me.

"He's expecting you, go on in."

I look back at Saylem and motion for him to follow me. I walk down the long hall to Saleon's office, looking into the operating rooms as I do. some of them still have hints of a recent operation, little bits of blood not cleaned up or tools left out.

I open the door to see Saleon sitting at his desk with another man facing him, away from me. Saleon looks at Saylem for a second but doesn't give him another thought, I guess he trusts him just because he's with me. I'm about to ask about the other man sitting at Saleon's desk but my question is quickly answered when he turns to look at me.

Haynes, or his clone, stands up to look at me. The way it looks at me is odd though, it looks very curious but hesitant as well, like an animal or child. I stand there, staring at the man who made my life a living hell, _wanting _to be angry at it but I can't, there's something about it that I can't put my finger on.

Saylem however, doesn't hesitate to walk up to the clone and start circling it, prodding at it every now and then. Before I can say anything, Saylem starts talking to Saleon about the clone and quickly passes the point of conversation I could contribute to, delving neurosciences and biological infrastructures and other things that sounded like they were made up.

After a grueling twenty minutes of the two salarians talking back and forth with the clone and me watching their conversation like a tennis match, they finally wrap up.

"May I see your notes on the subject and procedure?" Saylem asks as he walks back to me and stands up straight.

"Of course." Saleon's smiles, sending a shiver down my spine. Saleon transfers a document over to Saylem and then looks to me. "Your associate is very knowledgeable in the field of cloning, I see why you brought him with you."

"Yeah." I nod, smirking at Saylem. "I thought it would be wise." I turn back to Saleon. "So, give me the Coles notes on the clone, I'm not as gifted as my friend here."

"The clone is identical to the DNA you gave me, as per your request." Saleon says as he paces around the clone. "The differences are small, almost unnoticeable."

"What are the differences?" I ask as I eye the clone, it looks very docile, like it has a mental disability. It's just… standing there, not moving but following me with its eyes. I don't like it.

"The biggest difference is the fingerprints." He points out.

Just like the clone in the Citadel dlc, but it's nothing to worry about. Nobody checks the fingerprints of a dead guy, they take skin cell samples and blood and shit. "Ok, anything else?"

"The clone will expire within a month, the organs age faster than most due the faster metabolism which was needed to get it to its current age." He says as he sits at his desk. "It's completely docile and will comply with any command, it has the intelligence of a child. It just woke up yesterday so it hasn't learned how to hold a fluent conversation."

"That won't be a problem." I assure him. "Do you have anything that I can use to… sedate it, if necessary?" I ask.

"Of course." He nods as he reaches into his desk. "It should eat them if you ask, if not I'm sure you will have no trouble forcing it. Be careful though, any more than one will cause an overdose."

"I understand." I nod, taking the bottle of pills in my gloved hand. Saleon notices my plated gloves and gives me an uneasy look. "You aren't my only errand today, we will run some test of our own and get back to you with an offer." I say as I stand up and stuff the pills in my jacket before extending my hand to Saleon, thankful it will be the last time I have to.

"It's my pleasure." He smiles. "I look forward to your investment, I have been having some trouble with C-Sec lately and the money could help me dissuade them from their investigation." He tells me as he walks Saylem the clone and I to the door.

"I should hope so." I lie. "Stay safe Saleon."

I lead Saylem and the clone out of the clinic and towards a rapid transit terminal. I quickly type a warning message to Pac, Aila and Broadway, letting them know we are coming back to the warehouse.

"Saylem, can you block an Omni-tool from sending out messages?" I ask as I lightly push the clone into the skycar, ordering him to sit and be still.

"Yes, but only for twenty three seconds."

"Not twenty four?" I ask, poking fun at Saylem.

"No." he says simply, as if the very notion is ridiculous.

"It'll have to do, get that ready for me if you can."

"Ok." he nods.

I can't help but smile as we fly to the warehouse, this is going well so far. Normally it would have gone wrong by now so I think I'm in the clear, free to bring Haynes's world down to the ground. I'll take everything he has, and make it mine, rising from ashes and all that good stuff. And with Aila, Pac, Broadway and Saylem backing me there's nothing I can't accomplish with a little bit of effort.

"Thank you." Saylem suddenly speaks up.

"For what?" I ask.

"Helping us."

"No problem man." I say as I pat his shoulder.

"It was a problem, but you helped anyway." He says, now turning to me. "You didn't know who we were for more than a day and still tried to help us."

"Yeah, I did. You're welcome." I nod, thrown off by Saylem showing a hint of emotion. Saylem nods at me and opens up his Omni-tool and starts sifting through Saleon's data. I watch him do this for another few minutes, still trying to process Saylem saying thank you. I finally manage to speak when Saylem scrolls back to the top of the document and starts reading it again. "Anything in there that's important?" I ask, hoping Saylem simplifies anything for me.

"Yes." He says, still reading. "His work is basic, but is genius in areas where most people struggle with cloning."

"Huh." I sigh, looking at the clone who is staring at me. Jesus, that thing is fucking creepy. It's like the kids in horror movies, just staring with a blank face and big dark eyes. Except this isn't a kid, its Haynes, which only makes it worse. "Turn around." I say. The clone turns around and starts to stare out the window now.

Between the clone and Saylem, this cab ride is especially quiet, I can't wait to get to the warehouse.

* * *

When we start walking up to the warehouse my heartbeat quickens, not because I'm nervous or even afraid, but because I'm excited. The door swishes open and I see everyone standing around Aila's desk, talking amongst themselves until they notice us. I see the unnerved looks in their faces when they see the clone walking behind me.

"Is that…" Aila whispers, her fingers touching her lips softly as she stares at the clone.

"Yup." I nod as I continue to walk to the desk. "It's show time!" I whisper with a smile. I continue to walk past them with the clone and Saylem, heading to Haynes's office. I turn my head back to them and look at Pac. "Turn off the power to Haynes office for ten seconds on my go."

Pac nods and starts jogging off into the warehouse. I look back at the clone and move it next to the door to Haynes's office so it can't be seen when the door opens. "Stay here until I say so." I tell it, it doesn't move so I assume it's listening to me. I nod for Saylem to follow me and I open the door to Haynes's office.

Everything seems to slow as I walk in, Haynes looking up from his desk as I make eye contact with him. My eyes narrow as I walk across the room and a smile curls on my lips as he gives me an evil smile.

"Shouldn't you be working off your debt?" he says in an arrogant tone.

"I am." I say quietly as I bring my Omni-tool to my mouth and open a call with Pac. "Do it."

The lights flicker off in the room and the terminal Haynes was using fades out, he clicks at the keyboard to no avail. "What the hell?" he mutters as he looks around at the lights in the room which are now dark. I nod back to Saylem and hear his Omni-tool make a sound.

The second I hear that sound I reach across the desk and rip Haynes over top of it by his collar, forcing him to the ground in a struggle.

"What the hell are you-?" he starts to say before I drop my knee onto his chest, knocking the wind out of him.

"Shut up." I sneer as I wrestle his left arm up, pressing my fingers into his wrist. His Omni-tool lights up and he reaches around my back and starts frantically typing in C-Sec as the lights click on. He hits the C-Sec number on his Omni-tool, I don't stop him though. I only smirk as the call disconnects right as I feel a small bump under Haynes's skin.

I hold his wrist steady as I build up a small warp on my index finger. Haynes starts to curse it me, threatening my job and my life, but I ignore him as I gently touch my finger over the bump I had found on his wrist. The warp on his wrist is no bigger than a grain of rice when it starts deconstructing his flesh, trying to burrow deeper into Haynes.

"AUUUGHHHH!" Haynes screams, the warp digging deeper into him as I get off of him, letting him writhe on the floor. Through his screams he manages to bring his Omni-tool back up and he tries to call C-Sec again, but it disconnects and shortly after his Omni-tool begins to flicker and sputter out.

"Oh." I say, feigning sympathy as I squat down next to him. "Something wrong with your Omni-tool? Sometimes those implants get damaged, and that's just no good."

"What the fuck do you think you doing?" Haynes yells at me as he clutches his bleeding wrist.

"I'm destroying your life!" I say enthusiastically with a hint of crazy and grandeur for effect as a lift him off the ground and slam him face fist into the wall, pinning him against it so he can't move. "You know," I say as I start to feel behind his ear. "sometimes it's the implant in the head that malfunctions, it's hard to tell sometimes." I lecture as I find the bump and place a small warp over it.

Haynes resumes screaming as he grabs at his head, trying to get the warp off of him. I walk to the door and open it, letting Saylem out and telling the clone to come in the room. Haynes looks up at me, pure anger in his eyes but it fades when he sees himself walk into his office. He stares at the clone who seems to ignore him as it walks in the room, staring around at everything in wonder.

"Is… what is…" he stutters as I order the clone to sit at Haynes's desk.

"Don't worry about it, it won't be staying with us much longer." I say as I walk up to Haynes. I pull out the small bottle of pills and drive my knee into Haynes's stomach, causing him to double over. As he coughs and groans I pull his hands forward and wrap them around the bottle, then use them to open the bottle. Once it's open I carefully grab it by the corners so I don't mess up Haynes's prints.

I walk over to the desk that the clone is sitting at and pour all two dozen pills on the desk in front of it. "Eat those as fast as you can." I order as I place the open bottle on the desk, the clone quickly eating the pills as I open the desk drawers and pull out the bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue. I place the bottle in front of the clone as it finishes the pills. "Drink all of this." I say, as I adjust its fingers on the corners of the bottle so it won't leave prints.

As the clone starts to down the three hundred dollar scotch I walk over to Haynes, who's watching this all unfold, slowly piecing my plan together. It finally clicks as the clone starts to spill the liquor as it starts coughing. I look away from the clone as foam spills out of its mouth and starts convulsing violently, the bottle of scotch crashing to the floor sending shards of glass in all directions.

"You think you're clever?" Haynes says in a defiant tone.

"Yeah." I say with a smile. "More clever than you'd think."

"You can't even kill me?" he says, almost like he's disappointed in me. "You get this, thing to take my place? Spineless." He spits.

"Oh, how wrong you are!" I chant as I squat next to him again. "You see, they're going to think that's you. As far as the galaxy is concerned, your dead, you are no more, there is no Frank Haynes." I say in a darker tone. "No one will care that you're gone, the world will forget about you and everything you built." I say as I motion around the room. "The only thing you have," I say, jabbing my pointed finger at him after each word. My hand curls into a thumbs up and then I jab my thumb at myself. "I'm taking from you."

"You can't take anything from me boy." He sneers, before he can continue I cut him off.

"But I can!" I exclaim as I stand up. "You should change your password now and then, it'll keep people from messing with your personal documents." I wink.

Haynes's face flickers to his terminal, a worrisome look strewn on his face. His face freezes in though, as if he remembered something, and then he looks back at me with a satisfied smirk. "Boy," he chuckles. "you have no idea what I have to-"

"Wrong again Haynes!" I interrupt. "All your little CEO's have been taken care of trust me, and now we own everything!" I exclaim, twirling around with my arms outstretched as I motion to the room around us and the warehouse beyond that.

"We?"

"Yeah, we." I say as I grab him by his collar and start to pull him up. "All the people you hurt so you could make money, tell me, was it worth it?"

He looks to me and an evil smirk forms on his lips. "Worth every credit."

"Let's see if we can't change your mind." I smirk as I drive my elbow into his nose. "Is it still worth it?" I say, an almost playful tone on my voice.

"Worth every credit." He repeats as blood starts to trickle out of his nose.

"What you did to Saylem? Robbing him blind to take back the money you pay him for work!" I point out, my voice rising due to his arrogance as I toss him to the ground and jump on him. My arm lock in a piston like fashion before I send a fist into his jaw.

He spits off to the side, the gob tainted with more blood and he looks at me and smiles. "Worth every credit."

"And Aila?" I shout as my fist pulls back to its origin and fires like a piston into his face again, I hear the crack of my plated knuckles on his face. "You took away the one thing she had and make her work in this shithole!"

"Worth every credit." He repeats in pain, still managing to smirk.

"And me?" I yell as my fist rockets into his face again. "I save your fucking life, and this is how you repay me?" I send another punch into his jaw, blood splashing out of his mouth as it jolts to the side. "Is it still worth it?"

He takes longer to answer, but he still answers in a dizzied haze. "Worth every credit." He mumbles.

I reach around my back and my shotgun unfolds as it whips around to face him, I jam the barrel against his forehead until he cringes at the metal digging at his skin.

"What you did to Greg…" I seethe, my finger hovering on the trigger, eagerly twitching towards it. "The lies you spread, what you said he did to his daughter, you ruined his life!" I scream as I press the barrel harder into his forehead, waiting for a response.

He looks down the barrel of the gun, then back to me and quietly says, "Worth. Every. Credit."

My finger presses slowly against the trigger, a series of clicks come from the gun as the shear cuts a piece of the ammo block off and chambers it, readying to fire.

"Do it." Haynes breathes as he closes his eyes and leans back.

I'm tempted to pull the trigger, to blow this assholes brains all over the floor but I control myself. That's just what he wants, for me to kill him in and get brought down again.

I won't give him the satisfaction.

My finger eases of the trigger and I grab him by the back of his collar with my free hand and start to drag him out of the office.

"You can't do it can you?" Haynes taunts. "You're a pussy, I know it, you know it, and your friends know it."

This makes me stop, I calmly bend back down to meet Haynes glare. "Do you remember what I told you when we first met?" I ask quietly. "Life is too short, to give a fuck. Do what you want to, when you want to, and if people don't like it…" I lean closer to Haynes and smile as I finish my sentence. "then they can fuck off." Before he can answer I regain my grip and continue dragging him to the door.

The door slides open and I drag him into the warehouse past Broadway and Aila. The two of them let out a gasp as they see me walk to warehouse, shotgun in one hand and Haynes in the other. When I get into the warehouse Pac and Saylem are waiting for me, a large open crate next to them.

I fold my shotgun onto my back and use two hands to lift the bloodied Haynes into the crate.

"What are you doing?" he mumbles as I look at him from outside the crate.

"I'm doing to you what you did to us." I say as I use my biotics to carry the crate, walking next to it as I talk. "I'm taking you away from your life, all of the things you love. I'm going to ship you off to the place where you are going to die, a place where they chew up someone like you and spit you out. I wonder if you'll last long in your fancy suit, no credits, no Omni-tool, no identity." I lean closer and whisper in his ear. "Not long."

"Where?" he demands as the outgoing lift lowers and I place his crate onto it.

I attach the lid of the crate to its hinges, and just before I slam it closed I tell him. "Omega." I only hear the start of his yelling as the crate locks closed and lifts the bastard away to his death.

I walk into the foyer and find my friends standing around waiting for me. I let out a sigh as we stand in silence. Before anyone can talk I reach into a small maintenance closet and grab a rag and bleach. I use the rag to wipe the blood off my glove and notice the blood has soaked into the fabric, I'll have to wash it later at Aila's. I squirt some bleach on the rag and walk into Haynes's office to clean the blood off the ground. As I walk out I disintegrate the evidence with a warp, walking up to the group who are still watching me silently.

"It's done." I say as I lean on the desk, letting out a sigh as I think about what had just happened. Everyone looks at each other, uneasy at first, but then they start to smile. "He's gone." I chuckle in disbelief, I look at my bloody glove and then back to Aila. "I'm going to go wash this, if that's ok."

"Go ahead." She smiles. "I think we all deserve a day off."

* * *

_-One day later.-_

* * *

We all sit around Aila's living room, smiling wide as we enjoy a drink. I cleaned my glove off and then went back to the warehouse so we could call C-Sec and report the "suicide" to the officers. The will was automated so the second the doctors called the time of death, Haynes shipping and Haynes money was transferred to Aila. We signed off on the CEO papers and it was all confirmed a few minutes ago, we are now the owners of Haynes shipping.

"So." I say, raising my glass to my lips. "What's next?"

"Well." Aila says as she swirls her wine in her cup. "I'm going to divide the company into departments, a Paramilitary that Pakiev will run, an R&D department that Saylem will run, Greg will help me with acquiring new companies which will aid the other departments with funding and hardware." She explains.

"Sounds like you have a nice little self-sufficient company going on there Aila." I say, tipping my glass at her.

"I was thinking you could be a company contractor, helping out where ever you're needed." She says as she looks at me.

"You'd probably be working with me." Pac says after a mouthful of turian brandy. "I doubt you know anything about running a company or research and development."

I'm about to say that would be great, but then I remember I have plans, galaxy saving plans. Should I tell them about what I know? They are my friends after all, I do trust them but what if they don't believe me, what if they think I'm crazy? I might be able to do the same thing I did with Cerberus, just tell them something that's going to happen and when it does they'll believe me. That's really the only thing I can do.

"Listen." I say as I lean forward. "I have to tell you guys something, part of something really. If I told you the whole thing you'd think I'm crazy."

"What is it?" Broadway asks as he perks up with the rest of them.

I sigh as I think of how to word this. "I uhh, I can't help out with the company right now."

"Why not?"

"Something's going to happen, something horrible and I know exactly how it's going to happen and when it will happen. I'll keep you guys safe, away from danger, starting with you leaving the Citadel soon, within a year."

"What is it?" Pac asks, a serious tone on his voice. Everyone is staring at me now, all of them look confused and concerned. I'm about to say something but decide against it, god why is it so hard to find the right words? It was easy with Harper, why isn't it easy with my friends?

"I can only tell you a bit, if I start off to strong you won't believe me, hell you probably won't even believe the first thing I say." I sigh as I run my fingers through my hair. "A human colony, Eden Prime, will come under attack soon."

"By who?" Pac asks.

"The geth, and Saren Arteruis."

"No." Pac shakes his head. "Arteruis wouldn't do that."

"I know, he isn't himself." I sigh. "You have to just wait and see, ok?"

"If Arteruis actually does this." Pac says skeptically. "Then I will believe anything you say."

The rest of the group seems to agree to wait to see if it's true which makes me happy. Because it will happen, it can't _not_ happen. We talk a bit more about the events and I tell them about Shepard, all to a point of course.

We eventually work past all of this and start talking more business, Aila explaining how she decided to move the company's interests into the terminus while keeping strong ties on the Citadel. Saylem actually talks about some of the research he wants to do, most of it was what he did in STG but he seems smitten with cloning now. Pac has plans to make a quick group of mercs into a fighting force, then using them to train new recruits.

"We also have a new problem." Aila mentions. "The Blue Suns have acquired a warehouse on the Citadel, we can't let them get a foothold if we want to keep the Citadel for ourselves."

"What are they doing with it?" Broadway asks. "Starting their own shipping front?"

"I don't know." She shrugs. "That's what I want you to find out." She now is nodding at me.

"By myself?" I ask. "I don't think I can infiltrate a Blue Suns warehouse without help." I say, weary of her faith in me.

"I might be able to get you a merc, but on such short notice it will be hard." Pac speaks up.

"It's infiltration right?" I ask Aila, an idea forming in my head. "Just go in and find out what they have?"

"And destroy it if need be." She nods.

"I know someone who owes me a favor." I smile, thinking of my puke covered quarian friend.

"Can you trust him?" Pac asks.

"Yeah, you might even want to bring him on full time." I add. "He can join the… have we thought of a new company name?" I ask, realizing Aila never told us yet.

Aila suddenly perks up. "Yes!" she exclaims, opening her Omni-tool. "I was going to rename it after someone in asari mythology but I figured we couldn't have done this without you so I went with human mythology."

"So what do you got?" I ask.

"Your _Greeks._" She says, making sure to pronounce Greeks properly. "Have a lot of interesting mythology and a lot of interesting names. I found a story about a young man who was trapped, so his father made him wings so he could escape. When he did escape he flew to close to the sun and the wings melted causing him to fall into the ocean and drown."

"Not the best ending Aila." I joke.

"It serves as a reminder." She corrects in an annoyed tone. "You helped us from our metaphorical prison, and there are always limits, boundaries if you will."

"So I'm your dad?" I smile.

Aila sighs and Pac speaks up. "Don't focus on the drowning part, we can just turn that into a code."

"Like what?" Broadway asks.

"Flying to close to the sun can be used to mean the highest level of distress." He explains. "Most militaries and governments have some sort of code for it, flew to close to the sun could be ours!" he says, proud of his new code.

"Like the DEFCON levels the States have?"

"Sure." Pac shrugs, probably having no idea what Broadway's talking about.

"Can we get back to the name?" I ask.

"Yes." Aila says, now getting excited. "Here I'll send you all the name and the logo." She sends a message on her Omni-tool and I look at the message and read the name aloud.

**[I]  
Icarus**

**R/R**

**Michael1ange1o: Thanks, I thought so! I thought it would make sense for that to be a popular quarian kink, I mean a kink is just something that you like because it's different or dangerous right?**

**Kaiya Smith: Naw, while I do like clichés, the poor lit smoky room isn't my style. My style is more… direct. I think this is the end of Mavs debt problems for now. I'm had to look up Faye Valentine to know what you're talking about, to be honest the only anime I watch is RWBY and that's because I was and am a huge fan of RvB, but it seems fitting. Yeah there are a lot of ME/Halo crossovers but I've never heard of the Kasumi Spartans, that might be pretty funny. Thanks for the review, sleep tight!**

**XRaiderV1: A very bad day indeed!**

**DelVarO: Thanks man! Yeah for sure it is, don't worry though, body guarding is all yours! No worries man, I understand. Thanks, you should be seeing more of Lorin in the future.**

**general-joseph-dickson: Thanks!**

**ultimate idiot: The first one is on me, the rest you've gotta get yourself!**

**Spiritstrike: Even some of the simplest task have difficult steps, like when guarding drunks you might get jumped once or twice! Glad you like Lorin's… uhh… hobby, I thought it was pretty funny. Fun Fact, that whole little scene was based off a conversation I had with my friend at the pub a few days ago! I almost always prefer bulkier armor, nothing ridiculous but it gotta look like it can take a beating. I wasn't a fan of the Kai Leng armor, I think it was the coat part that puts me off. You should probably take the Omni-blade and put it on the Claymore, shoot the biggest threat and mop up the rest while reloading! Add a nova here and there and you're unstoppable!**

**CrimsonKnight117: Yeah I think it's in the Horsehead Nebula? I'm not sure, but I know it's called the Kronos Station. Thanks, I'm defiantly keeping Lorin around, probably quite a bit in-between ME1 and ME2. Yeah I guess it would be pretty universal, I think Wrex might be immune to it though!**

**OBSERVER01: Thanks man!**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Ok, so I may have been a bit off on my World Cup guesses. Australia held their own for a long time, that game was close. The Croatians demolished Cameroon who played one of the dirtiest games I've ever seen, diving and actually punching one of the Croatians. Spain played poorly, which was surprising. Anyway, enough football for now, here's some story!**

**Chapter 14  
**-Ground Floor Please-

After another day, Aila hired another two asari workers to take my place in the warehouse and has interviews set up for everyone else's job today. In less than a week, Icarus Shipping Warehouse 01 will be run without the help of any of the CEO's.

Aila is practically skipping around the apartment in joy as she gets ready for work, unlike me who is groggily shuffling around drinking my coffee.

"Can you just, sit down Aila?" I mumble as I rub my eyes.

"No!" she says giddily as she prances from the kitchen into the living room. "This is so exciting! There are so many possibilities!"

"Yeah yeah." I nod, not really listening to her. "Possibilities, tons of em."

"And you!" she squeaks as she smiles at me. She walks up and sits down next to me before she pulls me into a hug, nearly spilling my coffee.

"What about me?"

"You did everything you said you would." She says gratefully, still squeezing me tighter.

"Yeah I do that sometimes." I smirk as I finish my coffee and set it down on the end table.

"I'm serious." She says as she lets me go. "You did so much for everyone here without asking for anything in return."

"I just haven't decided what I want yet." I say as I lean back and rest my hands on the back of my head, my smirk growing wider.

"Well I have an idea on how I can make it up to you." She smiles as she opens her Omni-tool. "How far are you in debt?"

"Aila…"

"No." she says sternly. "Tell me what you owe, right now Maverick!" she demands, scaring me a little.

"Ok!" I say, raising my hands defensively. "5,000 credits." Aila's eyes widen and her face grows sterner as she glares at me. "500,000." I admit. Aila types away on her Omni-tool and closes it before giving me another hug.

"Thank you." She says quietly.

"You're welcome." I reply as I hug her back.

"So." She says as she pulls back to her seat. "I was thinking about Pakiev's code, too close to the sun."

"What about it?"

"Does it mean something has gone wrong with the company?" she asks, a little unsure of her guess. "Or is it life threatening?"

"I would say its life threatening." I nod. "Everything else in the company can be fixed, lives can't be fixed."

"That makes sense." She agrees.

We both stand and head our separate ways in the apartment, Aila heading back to the kitchen to get something to eat and me grabbing my gel under armor and heading into the bathroom to change. I quickly strip down to my boxers and slide on the under armor. After I fasten the seals running up my chest I flex my body around to get used to the new layer of skin and then fold up my clothes before leaving the bathroom.

I walk out of the bathroom and start to head over to my armor cases that I tucked off to the side, as I walk to the cases I see Aila walk out of the kitchen with a bowl of some asari cereal, I don't remember what it's called. Asari loops or something, I don't know.

I start to giggle as I think about what the ads would be for asari loops when I hear a cough from Aila. I look over at her to see she is averting her eyes off to the side as she raises her hand at me.

"Goddess, I am eating!" she whines as I look around to see what she's talking about. My eyes eventually fall down at myself, my skin tight armor hugging my… self… tightly.

"Sorry!" I laugh as I jog over to my armor case, covering myself with my clothes.

"This isn't a locker room!" she yells in protest to my indecency.

"Hey!" I snap as I hop up and down trying to pull up my combat pants. "You were running around in a towel the other day so don't tell me this isn't a locker room!" I finally pull on my pants and tell Aila its all clear, to which she make clear she is thankful for.

"That was different." She says, now looking and pointing at me. "I shower every morning before we go to work, you should have been sleeping!"

"You should have known I was going out to buy weapons and armor and go out all night to guard drunken people!" I shout with a smirk.

"You're ridiculous." She says as she waves me off and goes back to her asari loops.

I scoff at her, pretending to be insulted as I place my hand on my heart. She smiles and I laugh as I go back to my armor.

I slide my feet into the plated boots and secure the shin plates and knee plates onto my legs. I quickly scoop up my vest and pull it over my torso, hanging the chest plate over my shoulders next and securing it to my vest. I pull out my pauldron and fasten it to the lip of my right shoulder plate and fastening the lower half to my bicep, rotating my arm to make sure it's on right. Lastly I pull on my gloves, flexing my hands to get a better fit before tightening the ends and rolling my wrists.

"All suited up." I say to myself as I start double checking fasteners and straps. I reach into my last case and pull out my helmet, tossing it in the air and catching it so it's looking at me.

I look at myself and then back to the helmet. My armor could use a bit of customization, the all black looks cool but it lacks something.

"What's wrong?" Aila asks, noticing me looking at my helmet. I walk over to the couch and plop down next to her. "You don't like your armor?"

"No I love it." I assure her as I shake my head. "It's just missing something, you know?"

"Well." She says as she scoops her legs under her bottom. I don't know why girls like sitting like that, it looks so uncomfortable. "You're technically you're an Icarus Contractor, why don't you put some logos on it?"

"That's not a bad idea." I nod. "Contractor huh, is that what I'm being called now?"

"If that's alright with you your highness." She smirks. "Yes, you would go wherever you're needed."

"Like a Spectre? Cool, though I'd rather operate with a team. Lone wolf seems, well, lonely." I shrug.

"Speaking of lonely." She brings up. "Where is your friend?"

"I don't know." I say as I cock my head. "Let's find out."

I bring up my Omni-tool and scroll down to Lorin's name, clicking on it and sending him a message.

* * *

_Hey Lorin, where are you?_

**_I'm almost there, calm down asshole._**

_What's wrong man?_

**_You hosed me down with vomit bosh'tet!_**

_And?_

**_What do you mean, and?  
I found another chunk of puke in one of my buckles today!_**

_No way! Haha that's awesome!_

**_Fuck you._**

_Hurry up._

* * *

"He's on his way." I smile as my Omni-tool fades.

"Ok." she says skeptically.

My Omni-tool suddenly beeps again, I expect it to be Lorin but I'm surprised when it's from the Alliance and the bank. I open the one from the Alliance first, it's a message saying my 500,000 credit debt has been paid. The one from the bank is just an automated alert saying that 600,000 credits have been transferred into my account and my remaining balance is 100,000 credits.

"Uhh, you hit the wrong number." I say in Aila's direction as I continue to stare at the bank statement.

"Nope." She smiles. "The extra 100,000 is to pay you for this job as well as some equipment and now you're armor paint job."

"You don't have to pay me for the job, you know that." I tell her as I close my Omni-tool.

"I know, but it was Haynes's personal money and you are also an Icarus Contractor so you need the money for expenses." She explains.

"Well thanks!" I nod with a smile. "I'll be sure to spend it wisely." I wink as I open my Omni-tool and search the extranet for some nice scotch.

"Yeah I'm sure you will." She says as she rolls her eyes. After a pause she looks back at me and asks a question. "You're friend, does he know where we are?"

"Yeah." I chuckle. "He defiantly knows."

Aila's brow rises as she gives me an uneasy look. "What does that mean?"

I quickly realize that Aila doesn't know about Lorin's little B&E, would she be mad if she found out he broke in while we were sleeping? "Uhh…" I stammer as I try to find the words that will make her go away. Her uneasy look transforms into a suspicious look, her blue eyes narrowing at me and her lips tighten into a scowl.

Suddenly the door to Aila's apartment swings open and Lorin walks in, covered in plates and combat ready.

"Lorin's here!" I announce as I jump up from the couch and slam my helmet on my head. He cocks his head at me as I rush over to him, skirting around Aila. "Let's go!"

"What the hell is wrong with you?" he says as he looks between me and Aila who is now staring at both of us with her arms crossed.

"Go, go go go!" I urge him quietly as I shove him back towards the elevator.

"Hey, watch it!" He snaps as he struggles against me. "I wanted to say hi to your friend, we never got to talk last time." He says loudly in Aila's direction.

"Shut up!" I hiss as I finally push him in the elevator. I turn back to Aila and give her a quick wave. "Bye Aila!"

"Nice seeing you again!" Lorin adds just before the elevator closes.

"What the fuck man?" I sigh as I turn back to Lorin, giving him a hard shove.

Lorin just laughs at me, quite pleased with his handiwork.

"You're a dick."

"Obviously." He shrugs, still chuckling. "What's the plan? What are we doing?"

"Breaking into a Blue Suns warehouse and stealing all the information we can and destroying what we can, all without getting caught."

"Childs play." He says as he leans on the wall of the elevator. "We headed straight there?"

I look at my Omni-tool, looking at the destination on my map. I see that Golum's Armory and Grash'shas Weapons is on the way to the warehouse. "Does Grash'shas sell explosives, and does Golum do armor customization?"

"Yeah." He nods.

"How long does it take to customize armor?"

"Five minutes if you know what you want."

"Cool."

* * *

I got my armor repainted at Golem's, it took just under ten minutes. He just had to enter in the design and put it in a machine and the machine paints the armor and dries it instantly. I got a large Icarus logo over my mouth, from where my nose would be down to my chin. Another small one was placed on my left collar bone and a larger one on my left shoulder blade. Lastly I got one on the plates covering the back of my hands. All of the logos are white, so they look good against the black plates.

Once I got that done we went down the block and we got some more gear. I didn't need guns so I instead loaded up on grenades, eight in total. I also got breaching charges and flashbangs, four of each. I was surprised when I found the breaching charges, they were never in the game but I guess there was never a need. Grash'shas said they were better than hacking the door, while they're louder they also scare the shit out of anyone standing on the other side letting you take out them out.

When it came down to it, I spent just over 3,000 credits, which seemed fair for the ordinance I received. Lorin and I decide to walk the rest of the way, it was only a few blocks away. We start talking about unimportant things, namely Lorin asking about the logos on my armor. We round a corner and I see the building off in the distance.

The building sticks out like a sore thumb, everything else on the Citadel is clean and metallic, this building is dirty and abandoned.

"Looks like something the Suns would buy." Lorin says as we make are way through the crowd towards the building.

"Yeah, a real fixer uper ." I laugh. "Let's switch to private comms." A small icon pops up on my screen and I look at it, activating the link to Lorin.

"_-So what's the plan?-_" Lorin asks through my helmet.

"Well." I say, looking around at the buildings near the target building which is about five floors. "Head offices are always at the top floor, so we can use that taller building to get at it." I say pointing at the ten story building next to it.

"_-Ok sounds good, one of us can start copying over hard drives while the other scouts out the building for anything else of use.-_" he says. "_-You get the data, I'll do the recon. I'm better at it.-_"

"How do you know your better at it? What if I was a infiltration master?" I bluff.

"_-Because if you were you wouldn't call yourself an 'infiltration master' you idiot.-_" he jeers. "_-Don't worry, I did shit like this all the time on Omega.-_"

"Yeah, sure." I say as I roll my eyes.

"_-Hey I did plenty on Omega!-_" he defends. "_-I killed a krogan in zero-g combat!-_"

"Pics or it didn't happen." I shrug.

"_-I have witnesses.-_" he tells me as we stop in front of the building. He looks over at me and I nod my head over at the next building and we make our way inside.

The building next door is a lot cleaner, luckily it's not crowded either. We make our way over to the elevator, no one stopping us as we walk, doesn't look like anybody cares. We walk into the elevator and I hit the top floor button. Once the door to the elevator we walk out and look around, Lorin gets my attention and points to an exit sign.

The exit lead to the roof which was completely barren, just flat metal, not even a railing. It only has the sunken in door and stairs leading up to the metal plateau.

"_-So.-_" Lorin says as we walk to the edge of the building that faces the target building. "_-How do we get down there, did you get a zip line?-_" he says as he leans over the edge of the building, looking down the five story drop to the next building.

I stand there is silence, preparing myself to savor the moment. Lorin looks back to me and shrugs. "_-Is that a yes or…-_" he says slowly, waiting for an answer. He stares at me for a while before looking back at the building, his head flicking back and forth in confusion. His entire body language changes as he realizes my plan and he starts shaking his head vigorously as he points at me. "_-No.-_"

"Yeah." I nod, a smile forming on my lips.

"_-Nope.-_"

"Yeah!" I nod more enthusiastically, laughing as I start to walk towards him.

"_-I'll kill you.-_"

"Then you'll die too."

"_-So be it.-_"

"It's happening, don't fight it!" I say excitedly, now only five feet from Lorin.

"_-I swear Mav, I will kill you!-_"

"Ground floor please!" I cheer as I rush towards Lorin, laughing manically as I reach for him. I close the gap faster than Lorin can move and I tackle him off of the roof, plummeting to the roof of the next building. I felt Lorin's body lock up in panic as we fall and I continue my crazed laughter as I lower our mass. We hit the roof lightly, rolling to a stop before Lorin scrambles away from me as I cheer.

"_-You bosh'tet!-_" he curses as he stomps the ground and flings his tensed hands at the floor.

"Oh man that was awesome!" I shout as I pump my fist in the air.

"_-I regret being you friend.-_" he says with his hands on his hips, shaking his head as he looks at the ground. "_-I really do.-_"

"Man up." I laugh as I pat his shoulder.

"_-Man up.-_" Lorin mimics before aggressively pointing at me. "_-Fuck you!-_"

"Let's go." I say as we walk over to the door on the roof. We walk down the few steps and come to a locked door, the giant red icon hovering in the center being a dead giveaway.

"_-I've got this.-_" Lorin says confidently as he reaches into a pouch on his hip.

He pulls out what looks like a small blow torch and levels the torch against a small panel next to the door. Lorin presses the tip of the torch against each of the screws, a quick hiss of sparks shooting out after each press. The panel falls down to the ground and Lorin stops it from making noise by stopping it with his foot. He messes with some wires for a few seconds and then the door slides open.

The muffled sound of music drones out from the open door and I look at Lorin who just shrugs at me. Lorin draws his rifle and I draw my shotgun as we start to creep our way down the stairs to the fifth floor.

I notice that this building is covered in dust, as I walk I run my finger along a wall, my finger gathering dust at a ridiculous rate. I look at the dust and then back to Lorin who is also looking around at the run down building, specifically the wiring hanging out of the ceiling panels.

"This place is a fucking shack." I mutter as we stack up against the first door down the stairwell. Lorin messes with the wiring on the door for a bit, and then holding his arm out with a thumb up. I lightly tap his on the shoulder, letting him know I'm ready, silently thanking my obsessive movie watching to know I had to do that.

Half a second later Lorin opens the door and we walk into the room silently, our weapons scanning the hallway for threats and finding none. I relax a bit as we start to walk, Lorin keeping up his combat stance a bit longer then me until he caves. Our weapons only slide up every time we pass an open door, looking into the small offices.

"_-Head office up ahead.-_" Lorin says as he points his rifle at a sign at an intersection. "_-Looks like it's to the left, you head that way and I'll start making my way down to the other floors.-_"

"Ok." I nod, checking the safety on my shotgun. "Don't get shot and die."

"_-I'll try not to.-_" he salutes as we part ways. " _-I'll let you know what I find, any money says we aren't alone in here.-_"

"Probably." I shrug as I walk towards the door to the head office, shotgun at the ready.

I hear the door Lorin went through close as I stop in front of my door, quickly realizing I can't hack through the door.

Shit.

I holster my shotgun as I look at the door, rubbing the back of my helmet as I try to thing about how I'm going to get in there. I suppose I could take a look at the wiring, I did go to engineering school for a year. Granted I couldn't handle the theory as well as I handled the practical work but I still like to think of myself as handy with shit like this.

I tap a warp coated finger on each of the screws before hooking said finger through the center of the panel, lifting it off its slot and placing it on the floor.

God damn biotics are handy, I can't imagine how much more annoying they would be if I needed to use gestures. I would have to just chuck a warp at the panel and hope it didn't melt through the wires. I guess I got lucky, though it did come with a catch. I need to get that medication sooner than later.

I look at the grouping of wires and start to root around in the fire hazard. I find the power and the grounding wire pretty easily, but I have no idea which wire controls the lock. I grab the panel on the ground, hoping it would have some sort of manual or list of wires but it doesn't. it just explains where the locking piston is on the door so emergency services know where to cut…

Locking piston… cut… biotics…

I stand up and build a warp in each hand, pressing the backs of my hands together and interlocking my fingers. I let out a breath before pressing the tips of my fingers over where I think the lock is, in a flash my fingers start sink into the metal, the warp rapidly disassembling the steel on a molecular level. I feel a resistance as I hit the lock, it has to be made out of something tougher then whatever this door is made of which compared to the lock might as well be paper.

Finally after about fifteen seconds, I feel my fingers wiggle free on the other side of the door and start to pull the door apart slowly but surely. I get it open enough and I slide my back against one half of the door so I can push it apart with both hands.

Once I'm in the office I wring my shotgun off my back and look around. The office has a shit load of monitors on one of the walls, a chair under a sleeping merc facing them. How is this guy asleep? It's like noon or something, at most noon.

Well, better wake him up.

I stroll over to the guy who I see is human as I get closer, and lean over his shoulder. I can see Lorin on one of the monitors, walking quickly as he peers into rooms now and then. Looks like he's on the fourth floor still, but he's on the opposite side of the building so he's almost on his way down to the third floor. Well, looks like the third floor has a few mercs on it, clearly Blue Suns except for one who is a turian civilian with another blonde human woman who looks like she's tied up.

"Lorin." I say as I press my two fingers against my ear, even though I technically don't need to.

"_-Yeah.-_"

"Skip the third floor, it's full of Suns." I say as I start looking at the other monitors. "Looks like a ransoms going down there, clear the other floors first."

"_-Alright, we gunna deal with the third floor or leave it?-_"

"Yeah we're going to help." I say as I notice people on the first floor, looks like a turian and a human. "We will meet in the middle and deal with them, just clear the other two floors. We've got visitors on the first floor though, probably here for the girl."

"_-How noble.-_"

"Yeah, they're going up the west staircase so avoid that side and come back up that when we deal with the mercs."

"_-Well look at you, you're actually being useful.-_"

"Yeah yeah, it warms my heart when you say these nice things." I say sarcastically. "Ass."

"_-There should be a terminal in there with info, why don't you go two for two and copy its hard drive.-_" Lorin suggests.

"Sure, keep in touch." I say as I reach into the pocket on the back of my thigh, pulling out a breaching charge.

The charge is actually a mat rolled into a cylinder, it's about ten inches long and just under four inches thick. "That's what she said." I chuckle to myself as I unfurl the mat and walk over to the merc.

I stand next to the merc and read the instructions on the back of the charge. 1, unroll the breaching charge. Kinda redundant, you can't read this with it rolled up. 2, place the breaching charge on the door, making sure the center is over the locking piston. 3, detonate the charge **do not stand behind the charge! **

I attach the charge onto the mercs chest, the magnets on the corners keeping it attached. I tap away at the small display on the charge, syncing it to my Omni-tool. I stand back and tap my finger on the mercs forehead, activating my helmets outer speakers so I can speak to him.

"Hggmm?" the merc moans as he swats at his forehead, blinking rapidly as he sits up.

"Hey there little guy!" I say as I wake him up. "How'd you sleep?"

The merc looks at me for a moment, unsure of my presence. His eyes narrow at he looks at the Icarus logo on my mouth and chest, then his eyes lower as I motion to his chest. His eyes widen like saucers as he sees the charge, his muscles freezing in place.

"So." I say as I clap my hands together and squat down. "You're going to go unlock that terminal, load the entire hard drive onto an OSD and give it to me." I say simply with a shrug. "Or I'll breach your chest."

The merc instantly makes his way to the terminal and I follow him there. Within seconds he hands me an OSD full of information, I double check to make sure it's all there. It all looks in order, a bunch of stuff from guy named Hoyts and more shit about the Suns, I download it all to my Omni-tool.

"Thanks man!" I say as I close my Omni-tool and pat his face.

"Please…" he whispers, clearly eyeing the charge.

"Do you see this?" I ask as I point to the Icarus logo on my mouth, ignoring his plea. "Look at this for me man."

"I don't…"

"_Really_ look though." I say, tapping the logo.

The merc leans forward to get a better look at the logo and when he is about a foot from my face I drive my forehead into his. He staggers back a step before crumpling to the ground in an unconscious heap. It is way easier to do that with a higher mass and wearing a helmet then it is to do a few drinks in at a bar wearing a toque.

I lean down and start to peel the charge off his chest when I hear a shot ring out. I quickly navigate my HUD and start to open my channel with Lorin but he beats me to it.

"_-Causing trouble?-_"

"Just going to ask you the same thing." I say as I grab my shotgun and start looking through all of the monitors to find out what happened as more shots echo out. "Where are you?"

"_-First floor, found a body, broken neck, I was just checking him for something useful.-_"

"Ok, I'll wait in the stairwell on the east side." I say as I make my way to the stairs, more gunshots going off in the building. "I guess the heroes have found the girl, I hope they get her."

"_-I'm putting money on the Suns, it's just two assholes who think their tough shit.-_"

"Man." I say as I open the door to the stairwell. "Doesn't that sound familiar?"

"_-What are you talking about?-_"

"We're just doing the exact same thing dumbass." I sneer. "There's just no girl here, so they're one up."

"_-Do you…-_" Lorin hesitates. "_-Do you want to steal the girl?-_"

"What the hell is wrong with you?" I say as I get to the third floor, the door is already open so I start to peer out into the hallway. "You on your way up Lorin?"

I wait for a response but I don't here one, just silence which is extremely unnerving when it's Lorin.

"Lorin!" I shout.

"_-Fuck!-_" Lorin yells, I hear him breathing heavily and feet hitting the ground in a sprint. " _-Bomb! Get the fuck out NOW!-_"

"Shit!" I curse as I start to make my way down the stairs. "Disarm it!"

"_-It's too small to bring the building down, there has to be more around here somewhere!" _He shouts as I hear him sprinting through the building. "_-I'm out, where are you?-" _

"I almost on the first flo-" I'm cut off when an explosion rocks the building violently, a bomb must have been in this stairwell because the force of a blast smashes me back up the stairs. My barriers fail as I get to the top of the steps and I feel the last bit of force shoving me back to the second floor. I come to a stop when I slam into a wall, my head cracking off the steel sending dust into the air.

"_-Mmmrmm!-"_

My body cries out in pain as I slide down the wall into a slump and a loud ringing noise fills my ears as I shake my head. I think I have a concussion. I definitely have a concussion.

"_-Mmvrck!-_"

I groan as I slouch on to my side, slowly putting my arms beneath me before crawling, I'm not sure where, just… anywhere, away from the pain.

"_-Maverick!-_" Lorin shouts as the ringing in my ears fades.

"Yeah…" I grunt as start to push myself to my feet, stumbling slightly before correcting myself. "Fuck…"

"_-Are you alright?-_"

"Stupid question…" I mutter as I reach for my Katana, straining as I bend down.

"_-Good, get out of there!-_"

"Sure…" I agree as I look down the stairwell which is now blocked with rubble. I hear another part of the building collapse and I slowly start to make my way through the third floor, hoping the other stairway isn't blocked either.

I'm halfway down the hallway when I notice someone else limp into a room, the way to the stairwell blocked by a collapsed ceiling. The guy wasn't Blue Suns so I'll see what he's up to, maybe he has a way out. I manage to reach the door only to find it's locked, why would this ass lock the door? Maybe it closed behind him, and this buildings wiring is pretty shitty. Oh well.

As I stagger to the door I slide a breaching charge onto the door, making sure it was centered before I activate my Omni-tool and scroll to explosives. I hit detonate and hear a series of beeps coming from the charge, slowly coming to a crescendo as it activates. Just before the last long beep goes off I look at the charge and read **do not stand behind the charge! **

"Fuck."

The charge works on three stages, though they're close enough to be perceived as one. The first stage is some sort of thermite detonation which melts through the locking piston the length of the mat. The second stage is a concussive blast that is right next to the thermite, the force dissipating the air so it sucks the mat in the slit made by the thermite. It also sucks me towards the door, very violently and suddenly. The third is three way directional blast, two forcing the door apart and a third blasting into the room which only accelerates me faster through the door.

I slide along the floor before coming to a stop, I somehow managed to increase my mass so I don't go far. I groan as I push myself back up, my arms quivering to lift my normal weight so I lower it.

"What the fuck…" I hear someone mutter as I stand up. I quickly look around and get my bearings. Ok, there's a window, a bed and a guy holding a bunch of bed sheets. I shake my head at the last one and walk over to the man, who has now dropped his bed sheets and is staring at me. I reach over and grab him by his collar, pulling him closer to me so I can get a good grip.

"What are you doing?" he says as he tries to push away from me.

"Ground floor please." I quip as I hurl the both of us out the window before he can grab onto anything. As we fall, some people screaming more obscenities then others, I lower our mass and wait for the impact.

We crash to the ground in an awkward heap and he quickly shoves me away so he can punch me, his fist connects with my helmet but he doesn't seem to care.

"Are you fucking crazy?!" he yells as he takes another swing at me. I push myself back onto my feet and walk over him, C-Sec will be here any second so I need to get out of here. "What the fuck is wrong with you?" he shouts, getting my attention as I check my weapons. I look at the man and immediately recognize him.

It's Ivan the bouncer, tattoos and all. He tries to get up from his feet but lets out a grunt and grasps at his leg, a bullet wound going through his thigh. He's tied a bed sheet around the wound to stop the bleeding, the white sheet now drenched in blood. He's not going anywhere on that leg that's for sure.

I turn around when I hear footsteps and I see Lorin jogging up to me.

"That was fucking crazy Mav." He says as he runs his hand over his head as he looks between me and the broken window two stories up. "Who's your friend?" he asks nodding to Ivan.

"One of the heroes." I say as I stumble towards Lorin who reach over to steady me. "Got any Medi-gel?"

"Yeah, only one though." He says as he opens him Omni-tool. "So your friend's outta luck."

"That's fine." I say, desperate for the painkiller. Ivan never did me wrong but he hasn't done me any right so I'll take the Medi-gel.

"Let's go." He says as he starts to help me out of the alley.

"Hey!" Ivan shouts as he starts to get on his feet with the help of a bench. "Give me a hand!"

I'm about to stop when Lorin stops me. "We're slow enough with you, let C-Sec take care of him."

"Yeah." I mutter as I we leave Ivan in the alley, letting him curse us out as we leave.

Lorin walks to the right as he nods to a terminal. "Get anything off the hard drive?"

"Just a bunch of emails and notices." I shrug as I key in the Warehouse 01 for a destination, stretching my limbs as my pain eases from the Medi-gel.

"Check the last few." Lorin suggests as we get into a random skycar. "They might tell us who was behind the bombing."

I nod in agreement as I open my Omni-tool, cycling down to the last couple messages. The last few are all about the Blue Suns and some guy named Norus, but the last one gets my attention.

"The last one has Haynes as a subject line." I say as I open it.

"Your dead boss?"

"Yeah." I say, remembering that as far as Lorin knows Haynes committed suicide.

"Read it."

I start to read it out loud, as per Lorin's request.

"_Johan_"

"_I finally found that prick Norus was on about, I don't care who it is or what's it about. Just more family shit. But because I found him he agreed to help me get back at Haynes for what he did to me, what he did to us. He took a couple men to do his shit and gave the rest to me, only five guys but it should be enough. He went to set some trap at a warehouse while I'm headed down to…_"

My voice trails off as I read the last of the message. I immediately start to curse as I rifle through the options on my Omni-tool. I finally find the massage app and highlight Aila, Broadway, Saylem, and Pac and send them all a message.

_You're flying to close to the sun._

**R/R**

**noone297: Thanks, I'm not sure I'll bring back Haynes, maybe a cameo but nothing much. Yeah, like any woman, Aila can be scary at the drop of a hat.**

**Michae1ange1o: I didn't know that actually, do they do anything cool? Some other reviewer said there was and Icarus that made busses. I thought about hydra but the only reason I didn't use it was because most people would associate it with Captain America, mainly me because I just watched that a month ago.**

**S33KR-HUN: Thanks man, I'm not sure I'll bring back Haynes, if I do it will probably be in passing. Huh, where abouts was that? In America somewhere?**

**Wolfshark: I doubt it, I already had an idea for a loyalty mission but it seems lots of people think Haynes is coming back. Ah you'll have to wait and see my friend, thank you!**

**Niras91: At halftime I definitely agreed, but the fifteen minutes after the half Spain had a huge burst of energy that I thought for sure they would bring it back. but when they didn't score and Chile started to push back I knew they were done, and so went the 2010 champs. Thanks man! I plan on doing a lot more with Mavs friends after ME1, I consider this just an introduction to the gang. Thanks for reading man, hope you enjoyed this chapter!**

**general-joseph-dickson: Thanks man, I appreciate the review.**

**OBSERVER01: Yeah, it's feels great when you plan everything out and it all works out! And yeah RWBY, by Monty Oum. While I'm sure with Mass Effects folding weapons it would be possible but I don't think I will, the weapons are just too ridiculous (and awesome) for Mass Effect. I might put it the "It's also a gun." quote though, I love that quote.**

**Spiritstrike: Yup, it all worked out. Jesus everyone is hell bent on me bringing back Haynes, I might but it won't be anything huge. I thought so, I went through so many names before I came to Icarus, I probably spent over three hours thinking up a name. I hope you liked it, I enjoyed writing it but that's probably more because of Lorin. I love writing dialogue between Mav and him! Yeah for sure, we talk about random stuff like that all the time, I guess you can say Lorin is based on my friend in a way. I don't know about that new Transformers movie, the other three gave me a lot of mixed feelings but it has Marky Mark in it so I'll probably see it. I know you're a huge fan of Transformers, I looked through some of your stories and got that impression! One story catching my eye in particular! ;) **

**XRaiderV1: Yeah, Omega's got a real nice school district I hear. Nice little community they've got on that rock! Thank you good sir!**

**V-rcingetorix: I was shooting for arrogant when I wrote Haynes, glad I hit my mark! I don't see why they would, but then again I'm not a cop so my knowledge is limited to the few episodes of Criminal Mind I've watched. At this point I don't think Mav would truly be able to kill someone like that, not this early in the game anyway, Mavs still an innocent little lad after all. Some Greek mythology is pretty interesting, I haven't read that much into Norse stuff though but I might give it a try. Well, there goes the debt problem for ya! Yeah, almost none of my friends are into soccer which sucks. Thanks man, I will! Go Jays!**

**CrimsonKnight117: Yup, ding dong the bitch is gone! Those damn Blue Suns, always getting their grubby little hands in everyone's shit. Once again, thank you for the review!**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Heads up, this A/N is just about my guesses for the World Cup matches going on tomorrow which look to be some great matches. Australia should beat Spain, it'll be close though and really could go either way. Netherlands should beat Chili, again, this'll be a really close match so it could go either way. Brazil better beat Cameroon, if they don't they should be embarrassed. I hope the Croatians beat Mexico, Mexico has a killer defense and great keeper but I think the Crows just have more commitment to the game and more drive, it will be close though. Those are my guesses and hopes, I'll have to wait and see though!**

**Chapter 15  
**-It's Burning-

"Can't this thing go any faster?" I ask as I ready my assault rifle.

"No, what's wrong Mav?" Lorin asks as he watches me nervously squirm in my seat.

"Some guys were pissed at Haynes." I explain hastily. "They must not know he's dead because they're sending a squad of Suns to the warehouse right now!"

"So?"

"The message said they had orders to kill everyone in the facility until they find Haynes." I say grimly. "They're going to do anything to find Haynes, I know they will, I would."

"Well, we're only a minute or two out so we'll be there soon." Lorin shrugs. "I wouldn't worry about it, we'll stop them."

"Yeah, we will." I say with conviction.

"Anything I should know?"

"Five Suns and probably the guy who wants Haynes." I tell him.

"Childs play."

* * *

The skycar hovers to a stop before lowering to the ground and opening up. I immediately charge out of the car and start sprinting to the warehouse, ignoring the pain building in my legs as I run. I start shoving anybody who didn't get out of my way aside, making a b-line to Warehouse 01.

I reach the main door, opening it without hesitation and storming in Lancer at the ready. There isn't anyone in the lobby so I move forward towards the front desk, leaning over it to make sure nobody's behind it before moving on to Haynes old office.

Haynes's office is empty too, but there is C-Sec shit everywhere. Little markers left on the table, next to the bottle of pills and another next to the bottle of scotch smashed on the floor. Where the hell is C-Sec? They should be here, why the fuck aren't they here?

"What the hell is all this?" I here Lorin ask from behind me.

"They were investigating Haynes's suicide."

"Where is C-Sec?" he asks as he walks into the room.

"No idea." I say as I start to jog out of the room. "I don't like it, but it's not important. We need to find Aila and the others."

We make our way across the hall and I open the door to the warehouse, a sea of crates laid out before my and no friends to be found.

"_-Got a body.-_" Lorin says as he nudges me, pointing off to our right. As we jog up to the body I open the private channel and shut of my external speakers. As we near the body I see it's a Blue Sun, a batarian lying face down in a pool of blood. I flip him over, trying to ignore the blood and see he has two large scratches over his face and another two ripping across his throat. "_-Turians claws, I've seen that before.-_"

Pac, it has to be him. "They're in here somewhere, let's go." I say as I start to sprint my way down the length of the warehouse. I have to find them, I've done so much to help them and I'm not letting that all go to shit because pf some whack job.

"_-Wait!-_" calls out as he falls behind.

"No."

I sprint around the corner and I see some Blue Suns standing around my friends, weapons lazily hanging from their hands as some human guy rants on about Haynes. Aila, Saylem, Broadway, my two replacements all look fine. Pac looks a little beat up and has red blood all over his right hand, I knew that was Pac.

The man look very annoyed as he paces around, muttering about Haynes as he shakes a pistol in the air. He must be the one who sent that message, he has to be.

"I've had enough, he can't be dead!" the man cries as he waves his pistol about. "Tell me where he is now, or she dies!" he yells as he walks over to my friends.

He reaches his pistol out and presses it against Aila's head. Fuck, I've gotta go now. I run towards them, lowering my mass so my feet don't hit the ground as hard. I get twenty feet away from them before I see a flash of blue slip under my vision and I crash to the ground, sliding a few feet before I feel a knee on my back and hear a click on the back of my helmet.

"_-I told you to wait bosh'tet.-_" Lorin sighs in my ear.

"Drop it." The Blue Sun growls. I turn my head to see him, he's about my age and has a cockiness about him, his rifle is pressed against my head _underneath_ my barriers. "Looky what we've got here boys!" he chants, getting the other mercs attention as he grabs my rifle from my hands and tosses it aside. "We gotta hero!"

The mercs laugh as they walk over to me, weapons leveled off with my head. The crazy man has stopped pointing his gun at Aila though, so that's good but now he's staring at me, wide eyed and confused.

"Bring him here!" the man yells, causing the mercs to grab me and shove me towards him. As they push me forward I feel them taking all of my weapons, grenades and all. The merc who caught me hooks his fingers around my helmet and disconnects it before jarring it off my head.

"This is a nice helmet!" he laughs as he looks over it, eyeing it before pulling it over his own head. "I think I'll borrow it if you don't mind, actually I think we both know I'm keepin' it." He jeers as he shoves me again.

"Trust me, you're borrowing it." I correct as I glare at the punk.

"Whatever tough guy." Another Sun says as I feel another shove.

I don't know where Lorin went, but they haven't mentioned him so I assume he's out here somewhere. For now I just have to wait for these idiots to bring me closer to the guy, then the fun can begin. They finally stop me about six feet from the man and he starts looking me up and down.

"Where's Haynes?" he asks.

"Dead." I shrug. The guy immediately looks annoyed and starts to twitch and fidget around.

"No! Tell me now!" he screams as he charges up to me, pointing his pistol at my face.

Before he can get within a foot of me I rush forward, weaving around his pistol and slamming my head into his, his pistol firing off a shot over my shoulder. He falls back like a sack of potatoes and I swing around and tackle the first Blue Sun I see, hearing shots ring out from afar as we tumble to the ground.

I raise my hand and bring it down on the Suns helmet with a higher mass, cracking the casing with a sound similar to rock hitting rock. I roll off of him and see the other three guards firing their weapons at me, each round giving me a jolt against by barriers.

I feel my barriers start to weaken under the barrage and finally crack, a searing pain erupting from my arm. I charge into the one on the left, attempting to get away from the pain more than attacking a Sun, driving my shoulder into his chest as I take up the space he once stood in. The Sun slides along the floor with his chest plate cracked like a road map, his friends stunned for a moment before adjusting their aim.

I turn to the other two, fully expecting to be shot but I see the furthest Sun tilting his head to the side with a bullet trailing out of his visor, a Jetstream of blood following it. The one wearing my helmet hears the Suns behind him fall to the ground and turns around to see his dead friend, the neat hole in the back of his helmet and even more in his back. His eyes flick up to Lorin who is casually sitting atop a pill of crates with a smoking rifle, Lorin giving him a cocky nod before hopping off the crates.

He looks back to me and tightens his finger around his trigger but the small burst bounces off my now full barriers until a hiss of steam erupts from the side of the rifle instead. "Shit!" he panics and turn around to run but immediately falls to the ground when he trips over Lorin's extended leg.

I walk up to him as scrambles backwards, holding out my hand as I walk. He stops and reaches out to grab my hand but I move it's away, curling my finger in a _give it to me_ motion. He slowly takes off my helmet and hands it to me. I pull it over my head and am greeted by my HUD connecting to my Omni-tool as I activate the helmets seal. I look over at my arm which feels like it's on fire, the bullet just grazed the flesh but it still drew blood. Luckily my armor sealed the wound so I don't have to keep pressure on it, but it still fucking hurts.

"Thanks." I say as turn my back to him and walk to my friends. Lorin walks by me towards the Sun, nodding at me as he passes. As I kneel down to in front of my friends as I hear the Sun yell in protest before a long burst of automatic fire echoes through the warehouse. "Are you guys ok?"

They all nod as they get to their feet, Pac getting up a bit slower than the others. Everyone is fine, even the two new asari who by the way, look very shaken up, flinching every time a shot rings out to silence a mercenaries moans. I try to ignore that.

"Good, you need to get out of here." I say as I look at the crazy man who is starting to wake up. I walk over to him and let a warp slide off my hand onto his pistol and lean over him. "Get up." I order.

"Fuck you!" he says as he lashes up at me.

"No, fuck you!" I yell as I grab him and rip him to his feet. "You came here and threaten my friends, trying to find a dead man?"

"He isn't dead!" he yells. "He can't be, he… he needs to get what coming to him! You have no idea what I've been through!" he cries.

"I know exactly what you've been through." I tell him calmly, still keeping a firm grip on him. "But Haynes is dead, trust me."

"Did you kill him?" he asks, calming down a bit. I look back to my friends, not sure what to say, I don't even know if I can trust this lunatic. Probably not.

"No, he committed suicide." I tell him as I turn back to him.

He doesn't like this news, at all. He shoves off of me as he flails his arms about, screaming how I'm a liar, how we're all liars.

"What the fuck is this guy's problem?" Lorin asks as he holsters his rifle.

"I don't know." I say as I shake my head. "I guess he had a whole revenge fantasy with Haynes, now that he can't get it he's freaking out." I whisper.

"Well, take care of him." Lorin says, a little too darkly. "I had to clean up your mess while you had your little chat with shakes over there." He says, twirling his finger at the man who is now shaking his arms in frustration.

Great, more shit from Haynes. How is it that this asshole can still make my life I living hell from a box in Omega? Still, I can't kill this guy, he looks like he's been wronged more than me. I can't just leave him be either, he could be dangerous and he clearly isn't going to let this go.

[Just kill him you pansy.]

_Great, you again._

{You should go get him help, he could really use it.}

_Yeah but what do I do? Just dump him in the loony bin? I don't even know if there is one here._

[Use the extranet you wad.]

_Did you just call me a wad? That's… kinda awesome, I'm might use that._

{Do the right thing.}

_I'm going to have to, there's no way I can kill him._

[He tried to kill your friends! Fucking shoot him or crush his head or something!]

_I can't, if he's like this now… he could have been me, and if that was me I would want help._

I open my Omni-tool and call C-Sec, letting them know what happened despite Lorin's protest and insults.

* * *

I was questioned for a while by C-Sec, which annoyed me to no end but when Broadway threatened to press charges because the officers weren't doing their job in Haynes's office they let it go. They had someone take a look at my arm and she gave me some Medi-gel and wrapped it up, apparently it should heal in a few weeks. Though apparently this whole situation was added to my record which by now has to look pretty shitty, I've killed how many people so far? Seven? I… I don't like that I've lost count.

I get back to Aila's apartment and see her sitting on the couch, I say _hey_ just to let her know I'm here before walking over and opening my armor cases. I start methodically taking off my armor and placing them in their respective spots, save for my right glove that has a bit of blood on it from punching one of the Suns. Must've shot out from the casing.

I leave on my pants for Aila's sake and grab my clothes as I head off to the bathroom. I pull of my pants and unseal the under armor but stop at my waist. I step up closer to the mirror and run my fingers along my chest, tracing the bruises that outline where my armor was the thickest. It must have been from the explosion, I can even see the bruises surrounding where my grenade pouches were.

No point in gawking at them though, that won't make them go away. I peel off the gel armor and toss it and the glove in the washing machine before hopping in the shower. By the time I'm done my shower my armor's washed and I take it out and fold it up. I toss on my clothes and pull on my hat and head out of the bathroom. I put away my glove and armor and tuck the case into the corner of the room and call back to Aila.

"Crazy day eh?" I laugh as I walk to the couch. "Explosions, kidnappings…" I go on as I sit down next to her. She doesn't say anything back though, she just sits there. I lean forward and see that she's been crying, the white surrounding her blue eye is red and there's still a trail of drying tears running down her face. "Hey, what's wrong?" I ask softly as I wrap my arm around her, trying not to flinch when I stretch my injured arm.

"I could have died today." She says quietly.

Shit, I didn't even think to ask if Aila was ok. I didn't think to ask anyone if they were ok, they were in a hostage situation for shits sake. God now I feel like an asshole.

"Come here." I say as I pull her into a hug. She scrunches up into a ball and leans against me, wrapping her arms around me, squeezing me tightly. "You're ok."

"Only because of you." She chuckles over a sob.

"No, I would have died if Lorin wasn't there. Plus Pac helped too, he got that one guy pretty good." I chuckle, trying to lighten the mood.

"You know it was you." She says. "That's all you do is help."

"No, I sleep now and then." I smirk. "There was that one time I ate something."

"I don't think you're from this universe."

…

"I, uhh…" I stammer. Why the hell would she ask that? Does she know? How could she?

"You must have been sent by the goddess herself, to help the needy." She goes on.

I let out a huge sigh of relief as I let my head hang back. "Not really, I've hurt more people than I've helped."

"That's not true." She shakes her head.

"I've killed people Aila." I counter. "I never thought I would ever have to kill somebody but now I've kill more than I can count on one hand."

"You did that to help people though." She says, trying to make me feel better.

"Yeah, but…"

"But nothing." She assures me. "When you did those things it was to help people and when it wasn't it was self-defense."

"It's not the ends, it's the means." I explain. I open my hand and a small biotic orb starts to roll around my palm and hold it out for Aila to see. "This." I say, bobbing the orb up and down. "This doesn't kill, it… it maims. Only one person died instantly, the rest died slowly. I watched people struggle for air after I took away their lungs."

"James…" she says, sitting up and looking at me.

"I watched someone be in so much pain, he tried to kill himself by smashing his head of the ground like an animal!" I shout, closing the biotics in my hand before I wipe my hand down my face as I compose myself. I feel Aila's hand reach up to my chin, forcing me to look at her.

"You are a good person." She tells me. I can see the honesty in her eyes, I know she means it and that actually makes everything feel ok.

We sit there in silence for a good few minutes before Aila speaks up. "How many people do you think are out there?" she asks, changing the subject.

"Jesus, I don't know." I say as I shake my head at the odd question. "Gotta be close to a trillion right?"

"No." she says in an annoyed tone. "People like that man, people like us."

"I hope it's just us." I say truthfully, even though I know it's not. There has to be more, probably people worse off than us. The crazy guy definitely had it worse or he was weak willed, either way it's still shitty. I hope Haynes starves in that fucking box.

"I hope so too, I wish it was nobody at all but at least let it just be us."

We sit there for a bit, I don't know if I can just leave or not. I've never really had to console somebody like this but then again I've never thought I'd be in a situation like this. A part of me doesn't want to leave, just to sit here for the rest of the night but I have to go get that medication.

Aila finally relaxes her arms and I take this cue to let her go. I stand up and start to make my way to the door.

"I'm headed out." I tell her as put on my jacket. "I'll be back in about an hour."

"Where are you going?" she asks, standing up from the couch.

"I gotta…" I think of something to tell her, something other than _I'm going to go get my cancer medication so I have a slightly better chance at not dying._ "Go talk to Lorin about something, just a quick drink. I'm thinking he should come and work for us." At least that part is true.

"I think that's a great idea." She smiles. "Tell him I said thank you!" she calls as I get in the elevator.

"I will."

* * *

I arrive at the biotic facility and I have to say it feels good to actually pay for your own cab. Saves me the trouble of a long walk too. In the cab ride I called Lorin and asked if he would work for Icarus, to my surprise he actually said yes _without_ making any smart ass remarks about the logo.

I walk in and am greeted by the receptionist who tells me to sit and wait. I take a seat and start to wait, quickly getting bored and trying my luck at making a singularity. I'm getting closer and closer but I can only get it as small as a golf ball. One day I'll get it but for now I'm being called forward.

"Hello Mr. Matticks." The doctor smiles, I just now realize I have no idea what her name is so I skirt around it.

"Hey, how's it going?"

"I'm fine, how are you?" she asks as she leads me to her office.

"I've been better I won't lie." I nod as she open a door and we walk in. "Just here to pick up my _not die_ pills."

I see the doctor's put off by my bluntness and I giggle inside a little, I love making people uncomfortable, it truly is one of my favorite pass times. To her credit she pushes through it and continues to act professionally.

"Well, they aren't technically pills." She says as she pulls out a datapad. "They are small capsules that are loaded into and injector and administered via auto needle."

"What's an auto needle?" I ask.

"It's just like a regular needle." She assures me as she hands me the datapad. "You just hit a button and it injects the shot quickly, there is no manual pump."

"Cool." I nod as I read the datapad, finding out it's a bill. The whole 365 doses cost just over 27,000 credits. "I'll take them all, thanks."

We get the pricing sorted out and I'm given a case of doses with the auto needle inside of it. The needle is only about four inches long and about half an inch thick, the doses are only the size of a pea which surprised me.

"Would you like to see how it works?" the doctor asks as I stare into the case.

"Sure." I say as I grab a dose and the needle.

The needle has a small little chamber which the dose is loaded into, then you just put it over your arm and move it around until the red light goes green, letting you know you're over a vein, then you just hit the button and you're good to go.

"Now if I miss a few doses am I screwed or what?" I ask as I close the case.

"No, you can miss up to seven days without taking the doses" she says to my surprise. "You just have to take whatever you missed when you start up again, it might make you feel a little woozy for an hour or so."

"Thanks doc." I nod as I close the case.

In less than a few minutes I get everything paid for and I'm good to go, it actually feels good to get this out of the way. I tried to forget about the cancer, at least not let it bother me but now I don't think I'll be worried when I _do_ think about it.

I let out a sigh when I exit the facility and smile the whole way home.

* * *

I walk out of the elevator and enter Aila's apartment, immediately greeted by the smell of home cooking. I quickly jog over past the living room and tuck the cancer case with my armor cases before I sit down on the couch, searching the extranet for a place that will deliver scotch. I find a place almost instantly and purchase a bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue, two nice glasses and a small flask that I'm almost positive will fit in one of my armor pouches. You know, for… sterilizing wounds and stuff… yeah, wounds and stuff.

"What did Lorin say?" Aila calls out from the kitchen. I decide to go in and join her, answering her as I walk.

"He said he would love to join." I say as I walk into the kitchen. "I sent his info to Pac, he is officially in Icarus employ. I'd recommend him for a Contractor."

"Would you now?" she smirks. "What make you think you have the authority to do that?"

"Well." I say folding my arms behind my back, trying to look like I'm a professional. "As Icarus's first Contractor, with my wealth of knowledge and combat experience, I believe Mr. Nazza's adaptability on the field and informative chatter makes him an ideal candidate."

"Well Mr. Matticks." She says as she adds some spice to the food. "I'll file that away somewhere."

I smile and tip an imaginary hat at Aila. "Thank ya ma'am."

I walk over to the fridge and grab a bottle of water, unscrewing the lid and taking a long swig as I lean on the open door of the fridge. As I drink I look over and notice Aila is looking at me so I stop and screw the lid back on. "You ok?" I ask as I close the fridge and tuck the bottle in my back pocket.

"Yeah." She smiles, still looking at me as she stirs the food about the frying pan.

"Ok." I shrug, walking past her and into the living room.

My Omni-tool pings as I toss the bottle on the couch and plop down next to it, opening my Omni-tool as I sink comfortably into the couch. It's from the good folks on the Expedition. I scroll over the first one from Waiter.

_Maverick_

_Glad you're liking the Citadel, some great bars on that place! I did too break Jase's arm! Sorry it took so long to get back to you, and it sucks that it will be even longer after this message. We're on a mission and it'll probably take a few months, maybe a year. Also Mack showed me the pick of your new chick, bravo my friend, bravo!_

_Warrant Officer Hayden K. Waittens._

I hit the reply button and start to type away.

_Waiter_

_Yeah, I love it here. Haven't had much money for drinking but it just turned around. I'm actually the CEO of a company now, so I'm rolling in credits! Don't get killed when you're out there, the universe would come to a stop if you got hurt Waiter! And that's Aila, and there is no need for applause, we're friends. I was just bugging Mack!_

_Mav_

I hit send and scroll onto the next message, it's from Mack.

_Maverick_

_She looks expensive, must have set you back a pretty penny._

_Staff Sargent Makenzie S. Lorri_

I smile as I reply to Mack.

_Mack_

_Mack, resorting to these petty jabs won't fill the hole in your heart._

_With love, Maverick_

There's no message from Jase, not sure why but there's probably a reason for it, though I hope It's not a bad reason.

The doorbell rings and I look over at Aila who shrugs at me, so I hop over the couch and walk to the door. I open it and see nobody, until I look down and see a volus. Hey my first volus!

"Can I help you?" I ask as I raise a brow at the volus.

"I have an order…c_shhh…_for a James Matticks." He says as he holds out a sharp looking wooden box.

"Thanks." I say as I take the box and close the door. I walk over to the kitchen and set the wood box on the table.

It's not that big, maybe one square foot and eight inches deep. It's got sharp edges and a nice smooth varnish. I open it and am shocked when it's my scotch, Jesus that came fast, like, amazon drone fast. The bottle is lying label up with the two glasses stacked next to it and the flask under that. It's actually very classy, it make me feel classy just looking at it.

"What is it?" Aila asks from the kitchen.

"Liquor!" I yell back excitedly.

"Well it's just in time for dinner." She says as she nods her head at the table, two plates full of food on each end.

I walk over and place the box on a counter, opening the bottle and pouring myself two fingers, neat.

"Want some?" I ask, turning to Aila as I tip over the second glass.

"Is it good?" she asks, eyeing the bottle.

"My favorite." I smile. "But it's pretty much the opposite of asari drinks, not fruity and strong."

"I'll try it." She says reluctantly, so I pour her a very small amount, not even half a mouthful.

I walk over and slide her the glass, sitting at my seat and smelling the food she cooked. I guess it's a surf and turf, I see seafood as well as meat so I'm thinking its asari surf and turf.

I take a bite and watch as Aila eyes the drink, trying not to smile at what's unfolding. She lifts up the glass and is looking at the small amount I've given her, almost questioning it as she looks at my glass. She smells it and her nose crinkles as the aroma tickles it, then she takes a sip. I smirk when her eyes water and her face twists as she swallows the drink.

"Why would you drink this?" she coughs as she looks at me like I'm crazy. I laugh as I take a sip of my own drink.

"You don't like it?" I say with a smirk.

"No." she deadpans as she pushes the drink away, I gladly take it and finish the small amount she had left.

"More for me." I shrug as I reach over and put the glass on the counter.

The rest of the night goes on, we finished our dinner and watch an asari movie. To be honest it wasn't that interesting, it was about two politicians who were on opposing sides but they secretly loved each other. Typical girly fluff, but the actors and set pieces were great so it wasn't completely unbearable. After that we eventually went off to bed, ready for whatever tomorrow brought.

* * *

My eyes slowly creek open as I wake up, the apartment filled with light and the sound of a shower running filling my ears. I roll off the couch and catch myself on my hands and knees before pushing myself to my feet. I stumble into the kitchen and find the coffee maker just finished its brew, I must be up early then, normally it's Aila who makes the coffee.

I'm about to grab two mugs but I notice there are already two mugs sitting on the counter, sugar and cream already in them. I reach over and pour a splash of scotch into one and then fill the both of them up, taking them into the living room.

I notice Aila forgot her clothes on her dresser, so I walk over and place her coffee next to them and start drinking my own. I'm halfway finished when Aila tiptoes out of the bathroom.

"Morning." I say in a raspy morning voice, as I walk towards the bathroom.

"Sorry." She says sheepishly, pulling her towel tighter as she walk over to her dresser.

I don't say anything as I walk into the bathroom, it's too early to be poking fun even though this would be a great time to bring up the _locker room _problem from earlier. I toss my clothes into the washer and down my coffee before taking a shower, cursing at myself for forgetting to buy shampoo. Once I'm done I pull on my now clean clothes and walk out of the bathroom.

The first thing I see is Aila standing still, wearing a black pair of pants and a black bra, clutching her shirt in her hand.

"This isn't a locker room!" I whine in a high pitched voice as I make exaggerated hand gestures. I wait for a response but I don't get one. "Aila?" I ask, trying to get her attention.

But she just stands there, like she's frozen. She looks at me when I walk up to her and see she looks incredibly worried, her mouth curls to say something but loses the words before it can. She looks back away from me and I follow her gaze. I see the TV playing the news as my Omni-tool beeps an alert, but I ignore it because I know what it is. It's Eden Prime.

And it's burning.

**R/R**

**Kaiya Smith: I never got that, I thought it was cool seeing Fist in me2 but was disappointed when he want in me3, oh well. Thanks, I thought it would be a great way to get someone to do what you want, I know I would do pretty much anything to get out of that!**

**Spiritstrike: Haha, that's awesome! Glad you get that excited about it! I always love writing Lorin and Mav banter. The logo is basically this symbol [I] just a box thingy with a capital i in it. Uhh, not the best choice of words, but you didn't know what I was talking about, which makes me laugh! I saw the new story, I might give it a read eventually, not keen on the Transformers because I know nothing about the lore but who knows, I might like it. The story I'm talking about though was a bit more… hmm what's the word… sticky? **

**OBSERVER01: Well he got the meds, the first step to recovery for our boy Mav!**

** .77: Thanks man, its only gunna get better from here!**

**Michae1ange1o: Hmm, that's kinda cool. Thanks man, I don't really think the Suns would care, as long as they get paid right?**

**Niras91: Thank you, it was fun to write! I love writing the Lorin/Mav moments, I really do. Not quite time for explaining, but it's going to come up eventually. I thought "Do not stand behind the charge" was pretty funny, glad you liked it! Yeah there are a bunch of German words that are hard to translate I hear. I was actually rooting for Ghana (my buddy's from Ghana) and that match was awesome! So close! My picks for tomorrow are in the A/N, can't wait for tomorrow, it's gunna be a good day!**

**general-joseph-dickson: Somewhat, nothing too crazy.**

**CrimsonKnight117: Gotta love those cliffhangers! Yup all the bills are paid, meds are bought too so Mavs set. Thanks man, lots of people lovin' Lorin! Once again, thank you for the review, I will try!**

**XRaiderV1: Anvil's a bit much in retrospect, brick maybe…**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: Alright people, next chapter is ahead. On a World Cup note, Italy has finally gone home! Nana na na, nana na na, hey hey hey, gooodbyyye! It actually makes me happy to see them out of the Cup, not only do I not like the team for all of their dives and bullshit, I also don't have to deal with the fans. Specifically the 3****rd**** or 4****th**** generation Italians who suddenly find their heritage and make fools of themselves. Anyway, my predictions for tomorrow. Argentina should beat Nigeria. Iran over Bosnia. Honduras and the Swiss will be tough to call, but I'm gunna say Switzerland will come out on top. France will take the win over Ecuador. Now, it's show time!**

**Chapter 16  
**-Justice-

"It's time!" I shout as I jump around the room, I leap over the couch and grab Aila by the shoulders and make her jump around with me. "It's time Aila! This is it!" I jump backwards and land on the couch, quickly raising the volume on the TV.

The anchor starts to talk to her co-anchor for a bit until she starts getting to the facts.

"The human colony Eden Prime came under attack by unknown forces, but colonists who witnessed the attack say the attackers were not organic. Could this be the geth coming beyond the veil? If so, how will the quarians answer for the geths war crimes? More after the break."

A commercial starts play and I fly off the couch, sprinting over to my armor case. I grab the under armor and combat pants and run into the bathroom, trying to beat the commercial. I almost trip over one of my pant legs as I hop out of the bathroom, pulling them up entirely just in time to sit back down on the couch.

"… is rumored that the attackers were after a Prothean relic that was discovered on Eden Prime not more than a few weeks ago. Fortunately a ground team of the Alliance warship, the Normandy, was able to repel the invaders with the help of marines stationed on Eden Prime as well as local hunters. The Normandy will report back to the council when they arrive, which is estimated to be five hours, and we will have more on the story as it develops."

"Local hunters?" I say, cocking my head at the TV.

"Is it not supposed to happen like that?" Aila asks, who is now fully clothed.

"I don't know." I say, still watching the report. "I never saw the news reels of the attack, maybe that was somewhere else."

"What does that mean?" she asks now looking at me, confused with her hands on her hips.

"What does what mean?" I ask as I turn off the TV and start to clip on my armor.

"You said you never saw the news reel of the attack." She asks, narrowing her eyes as she takes a step forward. "Does that mean you saw the attack?"

Goddamn it, I really need to start wording things better. "Uhh."

"Uhh." She says in a low voice, mimicking me as she advances. "What's uhh? You never said how you knew all of this, but now that it's happened, I want to know how _you know_."

"Aila." I say as I drop my helmet on the table and walk over to her. "I promise I will tell you everything, just not now ok?" I say as I rest my hands on her shoulders. "But you need to do something for me, I need you to take the company, Pac, Saylem, and Broadway and get off the Citadel. Ok?"

"Why?" she asks skeptically.

"Because the Citadel isn't safe, it won't be safe." I say as sincerely as I can. "Promise me you'll move."

"Ok."

"Thank you." I say as I walk back to the table and grab my helmet, tucking it under my arm.

"So you're leaving now?" she asks as she follows me through the apartment as I walk to the door.

"Yeah, I'll be back to get my things later though, but you probably won't be here." I say as I reach the door. "I just want to say thank you, for everything."

"You're welcome." Aila smiles as she gives me a hug. "Thank _you_, for everything."

"No problem." I tell her as I hug her back. "Tell everybody I said goodbye, I wish I could tell them myself but I've gotta go." I say as I turn to the elevator.

"James!" Aila shouts, causing me to turn around quickly. She's holding her hand out as if she's reaching for me and walks closer.

"Yeah?"

"I…" she hesitates, clearly wanting to say something but she seems very… unsure of herself. I raise my brow as I wait to hear what she has to say, not quite sure why she stopped me. "I'll miss you." She says, looking almost disappointed in her own answer.

"I'll miss you to Aila, write to me when I'm away ok?" I smile as I back into the elevator. "And don't worry I'll be back eventually."

"Promise?" she asks hopefully.

"I promise." I assure her as the door closes and I ride the elevator to the ground floor.

The door opens and I start to jog to the street, thinking about where I should go to meet Shepard. Chora's den is out, when I played Mass Effect 1 I shot anybody in there with a gun. I doubt Shepard would do this but you never know, so I won't take chances. I hope Ivan is still getting his leg patched up, or at least not working when Shepard rolls through. He could still be in that alley for all I know.

Meeting Shepard anywhere Garrus is would be out of the question, so no Dr. Michele, C-Sec Academy or Council chambers. I guess all that leaves is Tali, yeah I could handle that. Maybe even make myself look good by getting rid of those salarians and the turian.

I should go reload my explosives though, I only used one breaching charge but I'd rather have it and not need it then need it and not have it. Maybe I'll stop by Golums and get some work done on my armor, maybe just to put my name on my helmet. I've got five hours after all.

I walk over to a rapid transit terminal and enter Grash'shas weapons and wait for a car to pick me up. In a few minutes is see a car veering off from the stream of them floating in the sky and it heads towards me. When it lands I hop in the front seat but before the door can close two men in black suits hop in the back with me.

I turn to look at them and see they are both looking at me, my HUD picks up that they're carrying pistols. They've both got buzzed hair which reminds me of the military, and have an air of professionalism about them.

"James Matticks?" the one asks as he sits forward.

"Goddamnit." I shout loudly as I slouch in my seat. "Yeah…"

"We would…"

"Yeah yeah, you wanna talk to me." I interrupt, lazily waving my hand at them. "All your Cerberus bullshit, just put him on the line."

There is a moment of silence before my Omni-tool beeps, I look at it and I see I have an incoming call from a private number. I take off my helmet and I click answer, immediately greeted by a young Martin Sheen on a small video screen.

"Making house calls?" I smirk.

"If the situation warrants." He replies, lighting a cigarette before continuing. "I somehow doubt you would be willing to come and talk to me aboard one of my ships."

"On the money." I nod. "So what can I do for you? Or answer for you?"

"It appears you were right Mr. Matticks, Eden Prime was attacked by an unknown force. I regret that you didn't tell me the location of the attack, that information could have saved human lives."

"I know, but it's a domino effect." I try to explain. "If you intervened it could have gone much worse or it could have gone much better, either way it would change things."

"Which brings me to my next point." He says, taping the ash off of his cigarette. "You say this is a domino effect, you would only call it that if you knew there were other dominos that haven't fallen yet. I think you know more then you're letting on."

"Yeah." I say, nodding slightly and looking off to the side. "I know a lot of things to be honest."

"How far ahead do you know?"

"I'm surprised you even believe me." I tell him, changing the subject slightly. "I thought that even if you did you'd have me tortured or something."

"Only if the situation warrants." He says darkly as the embers from his cigarette illuminate his face, he pauses for a second before letting the smoke billow out of his mouth. "That all depends on you."

"Yeah I guess so." I sigh. "You want to know how far I know?" I ask rhetorically. "Far, about five years, right up till the end."

"The end of what exactly Mr. Matticks?"

"Everything." I whisper. "The end of fucking everything. The Citadel, Thessia, Palavin, Earth, Sur'Kesh, and every other home world and colony. Even your little Cronos station, floating around that star of yours in the Horsehead Nebula."

Harper actually sits there for a minute, his cybernetic eyes narrowing as he takes a long drag from his cigarette. "The reapers." He says, a hint of finality on his voice.

"So you know." I smile. "I always wondered how early you figured it out. When did you find out?"

"Years ago. There are hints of them in between the lines of Prothean ruins, something that could easily be passed off as mythology." He says, clearing his cigarette again. "I found myself drawn to the idea, the idea of something so powerful it could wipe out life as we know it."

"You should avoid them, everything about them." I shake my head, immediately catching that last part as typical Illusive Man greed for power.

"The things we could learn from them are endless, we could jump humanity to the top of the galaxy."

"When I said it would be the end of everything, I meant you too." I warn. "You especially."

"This is beyond me, this is about the advancement of human kind."

"No!" I snap. "It's not beyond you! This obsession you have will be the death of every single human out there!"

"I don't believe you." He shakes his head as he snuffs out his cigarette. "I wouldn't let that happen."

"You do." I say, trying to be sincere. "I know you don't want to but there's nothing you can do about it, it's not you who does it, it's the reapers."

"How?"

"I couldn't explain it to you. I… you'd have to see for yourself. It's called indoctrination, it's why Saren did what he did. Once it starts you can't stop it, and that happens to you." I try to explain. "I can't tell you anymore right now, the times not right but to be honest if there's one thing I wouldn't mind changing it's you."

"I still don't believe you, I don't believe I would put humanity at risk."

"I didn't think you would." I say to myself. "Just wait and you'll see, for now I can leave you with a little look into the future."

"I'm listening."

"You have to promise me you won't interfere."

He seems to consider this for minutes, but it was probably only a few seconds. "You have my word."

"Today Commander Shepard will come back and report to the council. They dismiss the fact that Saren is crooked until Shepard and his crew find Tali Zorah who has evidence of Sarens involvement in Eden prime." I start, rolling my head left to right as I tediously list of the events of Mass Effect 1 from memory. "He recruits Tali Zorah, Garrus Vakarian, and Urdnot Wrex." I finish. That should keep Harper off my ass and help me start to change his mind, I really hope I can change his mind.

"And what do you plan on doing when this is all unfolding?"

"I plan to join Shepard."

Harper lights himself another cigarette and I roll my eyes, I don't know how he can still smoke this far into the future. I like a cigar now and then but cigarettes are fucking putrid. He takes a long drag before sitting up in his chair.

"I'll be in touch." He says as the feed cuts out, letting me let out a huge sigh.

I hope this doesn't become a regular thing but knowing him it will be. I don't know if I can change his mind though, it took Shepard the whole of Mass Effect 3 to do that and by then it was too late. I don't think I have even close to the same persuasive skills as Shepard, but I got to him four years early.

He still didn't believe me about how he ruins humanity, even though I called every event up to now though I was a little vague. This time I gave him heaps of information, I know he's thick headed but come on!

The skycar shudders as it lands on the ground a block from Grash'shas's store, cracking open with a hiss. I start to crawl out of the skycar, turning back to grab my helmet and wave to the two Cerberus guys in the back. Their job must really suck.

I jog up to the store and walk in, greeting Grash as I do. "Hey, need more charges!" I say as I walk up to the counter.

"You got it." He says gruffly as he reaches under the counter. He pulls out a box of breaching charges and I take one out, unrolling it and examining it.

"Cheers." I nod as I stuff it into its home on the back of my thigh.

"Just one?"

"Yup."

"Need anything else?"

"Nope."

"Ok." he shrugs and rings me up after putting the box away.

"Thanks Grash." I nod as I start to make my way out the door.

"Come back when you run out, I'll set you up right." he calls back.

I walk out of the store and open my Omni-tool. Shit I've still got a long time before Shepard gets here, I haven't even wasted and hour yet. I start to make my way down the block towards Golums place, getting there in a few minutes.

"Golum!" I cheer as I walk into the store.

Golum casually glances up from his Omni-tool and nods to me as he straightens up.

"What can I do for you?" he says as I walk up to the counter. He looks at my arm and smiles. "Never mind, I can see what you need. Took one in the arm eh?" he laughs as he pats my wounded arm, making me flinch slightly. "Doesn't look so bad, how's the other guy?"

"Dead." I shrug.

Golum lets out a hardy laugh as he celebrates death as krogan do. "Good boy!" he cheers.

"Boy?" I cock my head, a little bit insulted.

"I'm six hundred years old, I would call any human boy no matter how grey they are."

"Makes sense." I nod. "I still don't like it, but what can I do eh?"

"Not much." He shrugs, still smiling. "Let's get that off you, should be an easy repair."

I walk over to the courtesy curtain and remove all of my armor, folding up the under armor before I pull on my combat pants. I toss the under armor to Golum and he takes it into the back room, while he does that I put the rest of my armor on save for my helmet and start to walk around the store.

I catch a glimpse of myself in a mirror and stop to look at myself. Without the under armor I have a realistic gears of war thing going on, realistic in the sense that my limbs aren't the size of basketballs.

Eventually Golum walks out with my armor, tossing it onto the counter before typing a price into his Omni-tool.

"Hey are these that expensive?" I ask as I nod to the armor.

"Not really, why you want a few extras?" he asks. "You planning on getting shot?"

"Is that normal?" I ask, honestly not sure but it makes sense. "And I don't think anyone plans on getting shot."

"Yeah true enough, tell you what, get one and I'll give you the next one half off."

"Alright, I'll take them. I also want you to add something to my armor."

"Tech or those pretty colors you humans are so obsessed with." He smirks.

"Pretty colors big guy." I smile, placing my helmet on the counter. "Nothing crazy, just a little egotistical style." I run my finger along the left jawline of the helmet, stopping an inch before the Icarus logo on my mouth. "Just paint the name _Maverick_ right here."

"It's your money." He shrugs as he picks up the helmet.

We sort out the placement and font and in the three minutes it takes to print it I put on my fresh gel armor.

"You want to take these home?" he says, pushing the two gel armors forward.

"Nah, just send it to this address." I say as I send him the address to Aila's place. "When will it be there?"

"Two hours?" he shrugs. "Three at the most."

"Cool." I say as I pay my bill. "Thanks man, see you later."

* * *

I arrive at Chora's Den, still no bodies littering the walkway so that's good. I walk around and decide to go into Chora's Den to see if anybody's in there yet. The music is a bit quieter because it's only the middle of the day and there are almost no people her compared to when it's dark.

I see a few familiar faces when I take a seat and look around. I see that shit head Harkin sitting in the corner, looking like his usual sleazy self. I don't see Wrex yet, so I still have a while to go before Shepard gets here. The one that bugs me is Ivan, I don't see him anywhere. Shit I shouldn't have left him in that alley, he probably bled out next to that shitty building. Maybe he didn't, maybe someone found him.

I get up and walk towards the bar, getting the attention of a scantily dressed bartender.

"What can I get yah hun?" she asks with a smile.

"I'm looking for someone." I tell her, resting my hands on the counter.

"Well you found her." she winks. "Thought you'd be on a horse and in shining armor but I'll take tall dark and dangerous any day." She says with a coy smile as she looks me up and down.

"Some other day love." I shake my head. "I'm looking for a friend who works here, Russian guy, tattoos?"

"Oh yeah." She nods as she starts cleaning some sort of fluid off the bar. "Haven't heard from him in a few days, I think he was supposed to be in today but he hasn't shown up yet."

Shit, I shouldn't have left him there, nobody deserves that. Well, maybe Haynes, but Ivan seemed like a good guy.

"Thanks." I say as I take off my helmet, the bartender smirking as she looks at my face. "Got any scotch?"

"That I do." she nods as she reaches under the counter and pulls out a glass.

"Just one finger." I nod as I hold up my finger.

"I more of a two finger girl myself." She says with a sultry smile as she pours my drink.

"You know I gotta friend who would love you." I smirk. "You like quarians?"

"Never tried one." She says as if checking an imaginary tally. "How would that work?"

"I don't know." I shrug as I take my drink. "Apparently you need an attachment."

"I've got a few of those myself." She laughs as I walk away from the bar.

"Yeah I bet you do." I mutter to myself as I walk to a booth in the corner.

I sit in the corner for a few hours, downloading a few gigabytes of music onto my Omni-tool as I sip at my drink which I'm sure is watered down. I download a lot of big band music like _Frank Sinatra_ thanks to my brief addiction to Fallout and a lot of rock, most of it Canadian like _Head of the Herd_ and _Monster Truck_. I set a timer on my Omni-tool and listen to music as I wait for Mass Effect 1 to happen, getting more anxious as every minute ticks by.

* * *

My music dulls and an alarm beeps, cutting _Rose Tattoo_ by _The Dropkick Murphys_ off before the final verse. I turn off the alarm and look around at my surroundings. There are is a noticeably larger amount of guards hanging around, I guess I didn't notice them come in. None of them are Ivan, which makes me feel really shitty. Harkin is still trying to drink the sleaze off of him, it's not working. It seems generally busier in the Den, but not enough to warrant all of these guards.

I see the light of the door opening pour into the club and turn to see a mountain of red and muscle walk into the club. Wrex is here so it's time to get moving, I slide my helmet on and click in the seals before walking out of the Den.

I follow the déjà vu like a spirit guide, searching for the alley where Tali is going to be. I find it remarkably quick and look around to see nobody. Good, this should give me some time to prepare. Shit there isn't much here I can use, the one alley is out because that's where Shepard comes from, the other alley should be where the hit men come from, then there's these crates awkwardly stuffed in the corner. All options equally shitty, where can I go that they won't expect me.

My eyes eventually trace their way up the wall that the crates are against and I get an idea. I strut up to the wall and clap my hands together as I build a warp in each hand, bits of warp sparking off after each clap and dissipating before they hit the ground. I lower my mass as I press my index fingers into the wall, climbing my way up as fast as I can.

After about fifty feet and ten _where the hell am I going_ thoughts later I reach a small tow foot wide lip in the wall. Why is it there? No idea, but I'm pretty happy it is. I perch myself on the lip and scour the alley like a hawk, quickly getting bored and listening to music through my helmet.

I start thinking about what I should do, I mean obviously I'm going to fly down like a falcon on these guys but I think I should say something. Something cool that reflects my personality and makes Shepard say 'Hey, that guys really cool!' or something like that… I don't think there's anything that could make Shepard say that, he or she isn't a goddamn after school special.

I see movement out of the corner of my eye and see Tali walk into the lobby, purple hood and weird geth robot arm and all. I never got why she wore that thing, it just reminds me of Saren. She's nervously wringing her hands together as she walks into the center of the alley, constantly looking around but thankfully not up.

I see a guy start to walk through the alley, he seems to be hell bent on something because he's walking pretty quickly. The first thing I notice about him is he has long brown hair, tucked up in a lazy ponytail but I also notice he's got something in his hand, some sort of pipe or something.

He stops in front of Tali and much to my surprise he starts talking to her. Who the hell is this guy? He wasn't in the game but then again Shepard came at the last minute anyway. Maybe he'll go away… or Tali will shoot him. She points her pistol as him, making him raise his hands and that weird looking pipe.

They talk for a bit more and I curse that I can't hear them from way up here. What could they possibly be talking about? It doesn't matter, as long as he leaves soon, I assume he's leaving because Tali lowered her pistol.

They seem to be done talking and I expected him to walk away but this guy runs over to the crates and starts to climb in one of them.

What, the, _fuck_, is this asshole doing?

He disappears into the crate and Tali stares at it for a bit, clearly more confused as I am. In less than a minute the turian and salarians round the corner and the déjà vu kicks back in, I really hope that goes away. Tali and the turian start to talk and he starts running his talon up and down her arm.

Show time!

I see some shadows start to smear against the entrance of the alley as I push myself of the ledge. Aw shit, I forgot to think of something cool to say! Fuck! You're already halfway down, just say something, anything!

"JUSTICE!" I roar at the top of my lungs as I slam onto the turian, using him as a cushion as I force him to the ground. He rolls around quickly on the ground just in time to meet my heavy fist. The crack of fabricated plate against natural plate echoes off the alley walls, blue blood splatting across the white Icarus logo on my hand.

I ignore the fact that I just killed another man, at least this time it was quick, and turn to swat away the salarians but find that they're being taken care of. The contrail of a sniper round pierces through one of the salarians head leaving a mess of blood shooting out behind him. The last salarian takes a round in the shoulder, violently spinning him around 180 degrees until another bullet slams through his visor from the other side of the alley.

The gunfire echo's away as the last salarian stands there before falling to the ground like a board, hitting the ground with a thud. I look up and smile when I see Ivan in the alley, even though he looks pretty furious to see me, but that's understandable.

Wait… what the fuck is Ivan doing here?

I hear a creak and turn to me left, seeing the long haired guy awkwardly looking around, staring at me and Ivan with a miffed expression on his face.

I hear the quiet thunder of footsteps and turn to see a welcome sight. I see Shepard standing straight as she scans the alley for more threats. Her wild fiery red hair hanging over her green eyes and freckled face. I have to say, she looks fucking good! She was hot in the game for sure, the third one specifically but in the flesh it's another story entirely.

I tear my eyes of the red haired beauty and look among the other Normandy crew members. Wrex draws my eye first, how could he not? He doesn't seem to care that I'm here, or that Ivan or the crate hippy is here but he seems satisfied. He probably got to kill Fist, which must explain the sour look on Ashley's face. She's always kinda pissed off though, especially with new people.

Kaiden is there too, leaning towards Ash as he whispers to her. "Did he yell justice?" Goddamnit, why would I yell justice? I'm a fucking idiot. Oh well, I move on from the fellow Canuck to see Garrus, who definitely doesn't recognize me in my armor. He actually seems to be glaring at Ivan, who shouldn't be here.

Then there's… Garrus's partner? Why the hell is he here? He shouldn't be here, what the fuck is going on here? And who the fuck is that?! I see a guy in light Alliance armor with a… a Mattock? Where the hell did he get that? Who the fuck are these people?

"Thanks for the assist." Shepard nods with a smile as she holsters her sniper rifle, hmm must be an infiltrator. That's new.

"No problem." I say at the same time as Ivan, causing us to look at each other, though his is more of a glare. We stop staring at each other to look at the crate hippy who is making a shitload of noise getting out of that crate.

I look past Shepard and stare at the two new guys, Shepard must have picked up on this because she turn to them and then back to me. "Well thanks anyway, I'm Commander Shepard and this is my crew, Kaiden Alenko, Ashley Williams, Garrus Vakarian, Urdnot Wrex, Ian Shaw…"

I… Ian Shaw?... No, it couldn't be the same…

"and Dylan Owens."

Dylan… isn't he… it, it couldn't be…

"Who are you?"

"Just call me Art."

Art?... vexations… no it...

"Alex Engelstein."

Ivan's Alex?... isn't he from…

"What's your name?" Shepard asks, looking at me for an answer.

"_What. The. Fuck."_

**R/R**

**OBSERVER01: Yes it does, and yes he did!**

**Spiritstrike: A little bit, but at the end of the day they just care about the money, no honour! Yeah, Mavs got quite the folder at C-Sec. Pills hmm, the only thing that comes to mind is Left 4 Dead, pills here! Yup, pre ME1 is done and we're on to ME1. I figured as much, and thank you! I have no doubt in my mind you could, it seems like that's your thing. And yeah, that was the one! I couldn't help but laugh the whole way through, not that it wasn't good, but it was like reading a friends journal or something. No matter how serious it is you can't help but laugh. Thank you!**

**V-rcingetorix: Yup, thanks man. I don't have a beta, I have to do it all on my own so it feels good that you didn't find anything. Yeah I try to be careful with the timing, I made sure to say at least or at most when talking about the Eden Prime date because I couldn't find a date for it. And thanks, biotics is a crazy idea and has almost limitless combat potential. Thanks man!**

** .77: Yup, more than most realized! Yeah, seems Aila might be falling for our Mav, but who knows… it's me, I know ;) Thanks, I'll definitely try!**

**general-joseph-dickson: Yeah, they are.**

**FLaTone: That'll come eventually, and Mavs pretty good in fight!**

**Orchidellia: Yeah, Eden Prime is here! Thank you, I liked writing the pre ME1 chapters. Haha, most of them are wrong, and I didn't see it coming either. That whole game was fantastic. Yeah, I liked England. I think this is one of the first times they were eliminated so early in 50 years, I think, I'm not positive but either way it's an upset.**

**XRaiderV1: Thanks man, I appreciate the review.**

**SoMuchGerry: Lorin will be sticking around, probably more after ME1.**

**toprichie97: It will all be staying the same. I never limit how long a chapter will be, it just ends up being around 5k. the updates will be the same to because I still have to save time for work, playing video games, going to the pub, and hanging out with friends. You know, stuff that keeps my sanity level in the green.**

**Niras91: Hey, don't worry about it, I get that. Thank you, making conversations is probably my favourite thing to do! Thanks again! I like to think there's more to the story then banter and shenanigans. Again, thank you! I went back and reread my story and your right, I noticed a bit of refinement but also kept the writing style. How's that for putting Mav (among others) in the story line? Thank you, you're just full of compliments aren't you? Makes me feel good so thanks!**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: Ok people, new chapter inbound! Sorry it took a bit longer than usual, life got in the way. Good news though, it was fun times! I went out to a two day concert of great Canadian rock bands, and a few American ones. The **_**Trailer Park Boys **_**were there and announced each band. So I spent over 32 hours listening to some of the best rock around (the Canadian kind) and drinking the best beer around (the Canadian kind) and smoking the best cigars around (the Cuban kind… Canadian cigars aren't that good). My fellow Canucks reading know what I'm talking about, Canadian rock is generally underappreciated despite being great music, and to my American, British, and Aussie friends (and the rest of you guys out there) you are missing out. In fact, I'm on such a rock kick that after the Review Response I will put in a list of great Rock and Roll from the Great White North, if you're interested. Fun fact, the word Canuck (common slang for a Canadian) was actually a derogatory term made up by the Americans. Who knew? Anyway, enough ranting about the greatest country in the FUCKING WORLD! Let's get on with the show! **

**Chapter 17  
**-Surprise-

"I'm sorry?"

"What the fuck." I whisper to myself as my eyes dart around under my visor. I have no idea what to do, why the hell are these people here?

I look at Ian and my memory kicks into overdrive. He was in an SI I read, I think it was called Masses to Masses. Where did that leave off? I remember he fucked with Garrus's timeline, I think. I guess it's not important now.

My eye is then drawn to Dylan, what the fuck was his SI called? The family? Welcome to the family? Yeah, I think that's it. Fuck, he must have been the hunter the news was talking about! What the hell did he do in his book?

I look to my right and look at Art, he came here because he played some song on the piano, yeah that's it, his SI was named after it. Mass Vexations, shit he changed a lot. There's a lot of shit that he does to fuck up the timeline, not to mention his dream world.

I turn my shoulder and look at Alex, I remember him or I remember reading about him. Massed up, I don't think he finished it yet. He looks really confused too, looking at Ian and Art. Did he do anything crazy in his book? Shit I can't remember that far back, fuck you memory.

"Are you sure it's not Maverick?" Shepard asks, confused at my behavior.

"What?" I ask, turning back to look at her.

"Your helmet." She says, taping her jaw. "It says Maverick."

"Oh." I forgot about that, but can you blame me? I just figured out that not only am I just in the Mass Effect universe, but I'm not alone. There are other people like me on this station, well Dylan didn't get sucked here but the rest of us did. "Yeah."

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm uhh…" I take another look around, still baffled that these guys are here. "I'm fine."

"Alex, are you ok? And, Art was it?" Shepard asks, looking between the two of them.

"Yeah I'm good." Alex nods

"I'm ok, thanks." Art chirps as he walks forward.

"Well thanks for helping, but we need to talk to Miss..." Shepard thanks before turning to Tali, waiting for a name.

"Tali'Zorah nar Rayya." She answers before looking back at the dead hitmen. "Fist set me up, I knew I couldn't trust him."

"Were you hurt in the fight?"

"I know how to look after myself." Tali says confidently. "Not that I don't appreciate the help." She adds, shying away from her previous confidence. "You said you wanted to talk to me?"

"I'm looking for evidence to prove Saren is a traitor."

"Then I have a chance to repay you for saving my life." She says, cheering up a bit. "But not here, we need to go somewhere safe."

This time Garrus speaks up. "We should take her to the human embassy, your ambassador will want to see this anyway."

"What do we do with them?" Ashley asks in a snarky tone, looking at Art, Alex and myself.

"You can leave _him_ Shepard." Garrus jeers at Alex, who looks immediately upset by this but I get that, I'd be pissed too. "He works for Fist, he's just a criminal."

A low chuckle seeps out from Wrex as he smiles. "Not anymore." I notice Ashley send Wrex another glare but he doesn't seem to notice and if he did, he doesn't care.

"Come on!" Alex suddenly shouts, throwing up his arm at Garrus. "I told you, I didn't blow up that damn building!"

"It's true!" I add. "I was there."

Shepard and her crew look amongst themselves as Alex gives me an annoyed look, saying _shut the fuck up_ with his eyes.

"You were there?" Garrus asks, confused as if he's missing a piece to a puzzle. "Who are you again?"

"My name's Maverick, well my nickname anyway." I say as I unseal my helmet. I tug the helmet off and twirl it in my hands before tucking it under my arm. "My actual name is James Matticks." I smile proudly as Garrus leers at me.

"You know these two?" Shepard asks as she turns to Garrus.

"Yeah." Garrus seethes, wow he's actually mad that he knows us. "Alex Engelstein, _worked_ for Fist and is suspected in the killing of fourteen turians and blowing up the building where they were found. Unfortunately there is no evidence to prove his involvement, yet." He says accusingly before turning to me. "James Matticks, he was charged with the assault of eight batarians, the death of one batarian, one turian, and one human but got off on a technicality. There are other multiple deaths he contributed to, roughly eight of mixed races. He is also suspected of foul play in the suicide of Frank Haynes, his former employer, to assume control of his company and _apparently_ is now an accomplice of Engelstein's bombing."

"Allegedly." I roll my eyes, making Garrus angrier and making me laugh inside. Wow Broadway was right, I do love agitating people.

"Well I'm going with you." Alex almost orders as he crosses his arms. "I already helped Shepard _and_ came here to risk my ass to save her." he nods at Tali. "I think I've earned the right to see this out."

"What he said." I say thumbing at Ivan, Alex, whatever. I notice he finally recognizes me without my helmet and seems to be having a really tough time deciding to be mad at me or not. "Hey man, what's going on?" I smirk at him.

"Alright, you two can come." Shepard says. Really? That was actually easier than I thought, then again Shepard basically will take on anyone who asks in the first game.

"Shepard you can't be serious." Garrus immediately protests. "They are criminals!"

"High five!" I say excitedly as I hold out my open palm at Alex who immediately slaps his hand down on it, he then looks at me and remembers I threw him out a window and starts to glare again.

"They seem eager to help." Shepard comes to our defense, somewhat regretting it because I said _high five_ to being criminals…

Holy shit I'm a criminal… I… I don't... ahh fuck it. I'm a good criminal, like Robin Hood…

Holy shit I'm Robin Hood.

"Besides, the same could be said about Wrex." Shepard continues, interrupting my inner ramblings.

At the mention of his name Wrex takes a few steps forward towards Alex. "Did you really kill those turians?"

"Yeah, I killed all of them." He says proudly in his Russian accent. "Including six others that I cut into little pieces, just don't tell Garrus." He whispers, though making sure it's loud enough for Garrus to hear.

Wrex huffs a smile at this before turning to me. "And you? Did you kill all of those people?"

I'm about to joke along with Alex but instead I'm reminded about every one of those kills, every little detail. "Yeah." I sigh grimly, almost ashamed that I did. No, I am ashamed I did it, it had to be done but still I… I can't take pride in that.

"I'd like to come too." Art says, shit I almost forgot about him.

"Why do you want to come?" Shepard asks, putting him on the spot.

"I…" he hesitates. Now he can talk about how he needs to stick with Shepard because Sarens going to come after him for helping Tali… aww shit he never helped Tali! Now he's got nothing to get him on the Normandy! He better think of something, I can't imagine how he'd feel if he was passed up for this, knowing the adventure but not being able to experience it. Come on man, say something! "I can tell that you guys are going off to do great things. I know I can't exactly do much right at this moment, but this sounds like an opportunity that's to incredible to pass up. And… I don't know ma'am. But I'd like to help you guys anyway I can."

"Commander, he doesn't have any combat training." Ashely speaks up. "At least these two," She gestures at Alex and me with distain causing me to cock my head and Alex to scowl. "Have some sort of experience, he'll just be a liability."

"That might be." Shepard nods as she eyes Art up and down. "But he has a strong will, just like you." She now looks to Ashley. "And all of you." She motions to the rest of the squad before turning to Alex and me. "And our new friends here. I didn't pass a single one of you up, I'm not going to pass him up." Art seems to perk up at this, we all do actually. "We all have strengths, we can find his. There are plenty of non-combat roles on the Normandy."

Art almost seems to deflate when she says non-combat role, shit I would too. I know he can be something better but he didn't get a chance to prove it, because of me. I gotta help him somehow.

"I don't really want that though." Art shakes his head. "I want to be on the ground with you, I can learn to fight." He says, desperate for more.

"Commander we have a mission, we don't have time to train him." Ashley points out, clearly angered by the multitude of things going on.

Shepard mulls over what Ashley said before looking back to Art. "It's too dangerous, I'm-"

"I'll train him!" I speak up, causing everyone to look at me. Why did I say that? I wanna help the guy but I don't know if I can train him. I guess I can teach him how to shoot, and I know how to clean my weapons. Yeah, I guess I might be able to train him.

"You will?" Says too many voices for me comprehend.

"Yeah, sure." I shrug. "I'll have nothing else to do on that ship."

"Then it's settled." Shepard says as she looks between Art and me. "Art can join the ground team after James has trained him."

"Commander…" Ashley protests as she rolls her eyes.

"I will approve of Arts readiness." Shepard says sternly, quieting Ashley down. "Until then, Art is your responsibility."

"What do you mean?" I ask, cocking my head at Shepard and Art.

"You will teach him everything you know." Shepard's says, a wicked smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "And he will follow you around until he does."

"Is this a joke?" I ask as I shake my head, Art equally unamused.

"No." she smiles. "You will train together, eat together, you'll do everything together until you're trained." She nods at Art. "Fastest way to learn."

"Fuck." I curse under my breath. This is horse shit, I wouldn't mind training the guy but I didn't want to babysit him! Art doesn't look impressed either, he probably thought he'd get Kaiden or Ashley to train him, not me, the guy he just met who is technically not supposed to be here. "Sure, whatever."

"Good." Shepard smiles, clearly enjoying herself. "Now let's get to the human embassy, the sooner we do that the sooner we can start tracking down Saren."

Everyone starts to follow Shepard out of the alley, a huge group of people you would definitely not want to fuck with. This is awesome, after the embassy we can go to the Normandy and then get after Saren. I gotta get my stuff too, shit how am I going to that? There won't be time to get it later.

"Hey Shepard." I say as I jog forward next to her, matching her determined stride. "I have some things to take care of on the Citadel first, do you mind if I skip the embassy?" Not only do I not want to see Udina I also don't want to have to sit through that whole encounter, I've seen it enough from my many Mass Effect runs I've also heard it enough from the fanfictions I've read.

"Ok, it shouldn't take long." She nods. "The Normandy is docked outside of C-Sec academy, just meet us there."

"Thanks." I smile before I snap my helmet over my face and start to split from the group. I turn down a street away from the crew but am stopped when Shepard calls out.

"Aren't you forgetting something?"

I turn around and see Shepard standing there with a devilish smirk on her face, what is she talking about? I start to pat my hands around my pouches and on my back, checking to make sure I have all of my weapons and explosives. My hands finally finish their pat down on my helmet and fall into a shrug.

"No." I answer slowly as I shake my head at her. Her smile grows as she looks over to her side, right at Art. "No." I say again firmly, pointing at Art and Shepard. "I thought that was starting on the ship!"

"The sooner you teach him the better." She says, trying to be innocent about her _not_ funny 'prank'.

"I'd much rather go to the embassy." Art brings up, trying to get out of going with me.

"There's nothing I can teach him where I'm going!" I plead. "I just have to grab some stuff!"

"The faster you train him the faster this stops." Shepard smirks, loving every moment of her absurd form of torture. She turns to Art and nods for him to follow me, and he hesitantly walks over from Shepard's squad.

Man the Shepard in the game didn't have this cruel sense of humor, then again the Shepard in the game was pretty emotionless. Femshep was ok but the male Shepard was pretty bland if you weren't renegade. At least this Shepard is more alive, well technically she actually _is_ alive but still.

Art stops next to me and looks back at Shepard and her crew longingly as they disappear into the streets.

I sigh and turn to Art, tapping his shoulder before I start walking home. "Let's go."

"Alright, lead the way." He answers as he walks next to me.

"I have to." I shrug as I spy a rapid transit terminal. "You don't know the way, do you?"

"No, but you never told me where you're going." He comes back. "Did you?"

"Touché." I nod as I type in Aila's apartment and wait for a car to arrive.

As the car lands I remember something, Arts author never said what his full name was. He just used a bunch of little stars to fill the gap in his name, and it always bugged me. Now I can actually learn his real name!

"So, what kind of a name is Art?"

"Just a nickname." He shrugs. "What kind of a name is Maverick?"

"Just a nickname." I reply back. "But it means something."

"What's it mean?"

"Well I really like the movie Top Gun." I say as I climb into the skycar.

"God that movie is cheesy."

"Yeah." I chuckle. "I loved it. Anyway my friend got a cold one day so I started calling her Goose, mainly because she sounded like one but then she started calling me Maverick. And I guess it just stuck!"

"Huh." He nods, only half interested in my story. It's not really a good story to be honest but I like it.

"So where'd the nickname Art come from?" I ask, fishing for an answer to my long asked question.

"Just a short form for my actual name." he says before looking back out the window. Oh no you don't, you're not getting out of this that easily.

"What's your actual name?"

"It's Arturo Rodriguez."

"Really?" I ask in disbelief, that's actually a cool name. It's catchy, something that just flows together nicely. "That's a pretty cool name man."

"Thanks!"

"Arturo has a lot of history behind it too." I say, turning to face him as we talk. "Lots of famous Arturo's out there."

"Yeah, but not all of them were good." He points out.

"Yeah there were more good than bad though." I counter as I slouch into my chair. "Rodriguez is a pretty badass last name."

"Yeah my friends would always joke about that." he smiles. "They'd use that action movie trailer voice every time they said it."

"I don't get how Rodriguez isn't your nickname." I say as I shake my head. "It's way cooler then Art, no offense."

"I think it was just because it was shorter."

"Yeah, Rodriguez is a bit of a mouthful." I nod. "Still cool though, Arturo Rodriguez." I repeat as I look out the skycar window.

I finally know his name, and I'm not disappointed either. It drove me crazy when his author would put in asterisks, now I can finally say I know his real name. Arturo Rodriguez, it's just catchy, I can't stop saying it. Arturo Rodriguez, I'm so happy I figured this out!

"So what is that logo?" he asks, pointing at the Icarus logo. "Is it a mercenary company? I can't say I've seen it before."

"I'm an Icarus Contractor."

"A Contractor?" he asks, still looking at the logo. "So you're a mercenary?"

"No." I clarify. "A mercenary's loyal to a paycheck, I'm loyal to Icarus. I'm more of a soldier." I clarify.

"Oh." He nods slowly, it doesn't seem like he's convinced I'm not a merc. "Why are you loyal to Icarus, what do they do?"

Shit that's a hard question, I can't really tell him that it's a company devoted to fighting the reapers. Hell, I haven't even told Aila and them that that's what the company is for.

"It's hard to explain." I say, trying to pick my words carefully. "We are attempting to… make a better future. We try to acquire as many resources as possible, that way we can use them to protect people."

Art nods at this and then I see him freeze, pondering what I just said. He looks at me and then at the logo on my helmet, narrowed eyes looking me over suspiciously. "Who are you trying to protect, who's future are you trying to better?"

I cock my head at the odd question. "Everybody, if they need help we'll try to help."

Art keeps looking at me, he seems suspicious, like he doesn't quite believe me but he wants to. He eventually looks away when the skycar comes to a stop and blossoms open.

"Are we here?" he asks as he looks around at the buildings, in awe of the Citadel. I recognize that face, that's the same face I had when I saw it.

"No, it's about five blocks that way." I say, pointing down the street with my outstretched arm.

Art turns back to me, not understanding why I stopped us this far away. "Why didn't you bring us closer?"

"Do you want to be on the first ground op?" I ask as I lead him off the platform and into the crowd. He nods his head at this and turn back to face him. "Good, then we have to start training you now. I don't want to miss it because I'm stuck on the Normandy with you, so we start now. Get running."

* * *

Art kept pace for two blocks, he started to trail after that. Once we hit the fourth block I started to trail behind, I tried to play it off like I was waiting for him but I think he knew I was tired. Once we got to Aila's Art was panting like a dog, I was tired too but I cheated so I was nowhere near as tired as he was. On the third block I started to lower my mass so running wouldn't be as hard, plus my armors gel suit absorbs sweat to keep me cool. But I'm not telling him that.

"Please tell me this is it." Art pleads as I stop at Aila's building. I walk up to the door and open it for him.

"Yeah, this is it." I chuckle. Art looks up at me with a scowl of disbelief on his face.

"You said that last time, and the time before that." he sneers.

I just giggle as I walk up to the elevator. "Yeah, I did didn't I?" Art is less than impressed as I wait for him in the elevator, as if he expects me to jump out and keep running down the street. "Come on!" I say impatiently and Art finally walks in.

"So what are you getting?" he asks as we watch the elevator climb up the building on the display.

"Armor cases, weapon cases, other necessities." I shrug. "Just stuff I need on the Normandy, I didn't think I'd have a chance later so I thought I'd grab it now."

The elevator door opens and I'm greeted by a dark apartment, almost black. The shades are pulled back and every light is out, even the emergency lighting that makes sure the room is never this dark. Art starts to walk into the apartment but I reach my hand over his chest to stop him. Something isn't right.

Art's about to talk but my hand whips up over his mouth, stifling his words. I press my finger against the plate over my mouth, telling him to be quiet. I grip my assault rifle and pull it from its holster, I click off the safety and ready it to fire before handing it to Art.

"Stay here." I whisper. "Don't shoot unless you're about to be shot."

Art nods his head and I'll give him some credit, he looks more determined then afraid. I slowly draw my shotgun and level it of before creeping into the apartment. I can't see a damn thing but I don't want to put on my Omni-tool light and give them, if there is anybody, an advantage so instead I slowly drag my eyes around the room to see if my HUD registers weapons.

I think I'm in the clear until I look over the curtain hanging next to the window, a small icon twirling around as it scans the weapon. It's an assault rifle, I don't know who's got it but they are behind that curtain.

Who is it now? More psychopaths, Blue Suns, C-Sec, Cerberus? I don't want to wait to find out so I grip my Katana in one hand and increase its mass to deaden the recoil. I let out a breath as my finger hovers over the trigger, maybe I should give them a warning, what if it's C-Sec? No, C-Sec wouldn't hide like this.

Suddenly the lights all flick on, blinding me and ruining my aim. I force my eyes open despite the bright lights but I can't make out a target. Then my whole body relaxes as I hear people shout.

"Surprise!"

My vision clears and I see Pac and Broadway raise from behind the couch, Aila and Saylem walk out from the kitchen and Lorin walks out from the curtain, his assault rifle strapped to his back. I let out a sigh and tilt my shotgun up to the ceiling, away from Lorin.

The clapping and smiles fade away when everyone sees me standing in the middle of the apartment with a shotgun in hand,.

"Told you this was a stupid idea." Lorin says as he walks forward and sits in a chair. "I don't know why humans do this, I almost got shot."

"I agree with Lorin." Pac nods before looking at Broadway. "It doesn't make any sense."

"I liked it!" Aila smiles.

"What are you guys doing here?" I ask as I slap my shotgun onto my back.

"We thought we would give you a proper send off." Broadway says as he takes a sip of his drink. "Even if you've got to go soon."

I take off my helmet and toss it onto Aila's bed on the far side of the room and walk over to everyone, we start to talk about this and that. We talk for about a minute until Lorin speaks up.

"Why is there a guy in the elevator?" he asks as he points to Art.

Oh shit, I forgot about him. "Hey, come here man!" I shout at the elevator. Art slowly walks out, not sure what to do with the rifle I gave him. I walk up to him and wrap my arm around him after taking back my Lancer. "Everyone, this is Art. Art this is Aila, Saylem, Broadway, Pac, and Lorin." I say as I point each one of them out.

"Um… hi." Art waves as he looks around at everybody.

Everybody waves back, except for Saylem and Lorin.

"What kind of name is Arch?" Lorin asks, shaking his head slightly.

"It's Art." He clarifies. "Spelled A-r-t."

Lorin shrugs and goes back to his drink, fidgeting with the straw-tube for a moment.

"So how do you know Mav?" Broadway asks, motioning for Art to sit down.

"Well, we kinda just met." Art says as he takes a seat. "He's actually going to be training me on the Normandy."

I hear a weird muffled grunt-sputter and turn to see Lorin ripping his tube from his mask, coughing and pounding his chest with his fist. His coughing slowly turns into laughter as he points at me. "_He's_ training you? For what?"

Art looks confused as the rest of my friends smile at Lorin. "Umm, he's going to teach me how to use weapons and how to fight." He replies slowly, put off by Lorin's laughter.

"NO WAY!" Lorin yells as he covers his mask with his hands as he laughs his way out of his chair and onto the floor. "Keelah, you're so fucked!"

Art turns to me with a very worrisome look, I wave my hand at him and I thumb towards Lorin. "Don't listen to this asshole, you'll be fine."

"Mav has saved each of us more than once." Broadway says, tipping his glass to me so I nod back.

"Really?" Art asks, his faith in my ability to train him bolstering ever so slightly.

"Not me." Lorin scoffs. "In fact I've saved his ass more times than I could count on one hand."

"That's four." I shoot back. "Four times, and three don't count because you left me in a building rigged to explode."

"That was you?" Pac suddenly perks up. "I thought that was Blue Suns."

"It was." I nod, putting Pac at ease. "He just left me in that building to, you know, _explode_." I say, shooting an accusing glare at Lorin.

"Because you threw me off of a five story building!" Lorin counters, shouting with his arms raised.

"Wait, you threw him off of a building?" Art asks in disbelief.

"No of course not." I scoff in derision. I reach over and grab a drink, taking a sip as I lean back in my chair. "I tackled him off it." I say nonchalantly as I swill my drink around.

"It's the same thing." Lorin seethes, leaning forward on his knees as he stares.

"Night and day really." I say to Art as I ignore Lorin and take another sip of my drink.

"Bosh'tet." Lorin mutters as he jams his straw into his mask.

"Ass." I shoot back.

"Do they always act like this?" Art asks, pointing at Lorin and me.

Everyone nods in agreement as Lorin pouts and I give him the finger. We all talk for a bit more until Art turns to me and waves to get my attention.

"We should leave soon, wouldn't want to keep Shepard waiting."

"Yeah you're right." I agree as I get to my feet. "Thanks for the get together guys, but duty calls."

"We have something for you." Aila smiles, she looks over and Broadway grabs a few bags and sets them on the coffee table.

"Guys you didn't have to get me anything." I smile as I eye the gifts.

"That's what I said!" Lorin announces as he points his open palm at Aila.

"You're always there for me man." I smirk as I snap my finger into a gun and bob it at Lorin.

"Anytime." He salutes back.

"It's just two things." Aila says as I walk up to the gifts. "One's for you."

"And the other is for your enemies." Pac says with a turian smile, his mandibles spread wide.

I open the first gift and see it's a new jacket, a futuristic version of my old bomber jacket. I hold it up and look at it, it looks a lot like my old one but has sharper lines and seems, the collar reminds me of Thanes jacket but it's nowhere near as big.

"You never got your old one fixed so we got you a new one!" Broadway smiles

"Thanks guys!" I smile as I fold up the jacket. "It looks really nice, can't wait to wear it!"

I reach over to the next one and shake it. It has a hard thud to it and is much smaller than the jackets box, maybe two feet long and half a foot wide. I take the lid off the box and smile as I pull out the gift.

It's a new kukri knife, and it looks way newer then my old one which is now technically over a hundred years old. But this one is different, where my kukri is shiny with a curved blade for slicing this blade is flat black with sharp angles like a cleaver leading up to a wicked point.

"We had this blade made a few days ago." Pac says, clearly this was his idea, I don't think anyone else would think of this. "Your old blade was made for slicing which is useless with most people wearing armor now, this one's weighted for hacking through thin plates and stabbing through thick ones."

"How does a knife go through armor?" I ask, still twirling the blade around in my hand.

"Well your knife couldn't, I don't know here you got it but I've never seen a forged blade before." He shakes his head. "This was fabricated, made from a dense material that was hardened and pressed with mass effect fields. I read that biotics can increase the mass of objects, if you do that to this then you'll have no problem with armor."

"Awesome." I smile as I pull out the sheath. I notice it has an attachment so it can go on your calf, instead I wrap it on my left bicep and position the knife so the handle is pointed at the inside of my elbow and the point is pointed up behind my shoulder. "I hope I don't have to use it, but I'll be glad I have it when I do."

I make the rounds, saying my goodbyes to everyone. I grab all of my cases, weapons, armor, scotch, and cancer meds. Thankfully Art is there to help because there is actually quite a bit of stuff, I made sure to hold my meds though. Once we get to street level I enter in the Normandy's location outside of C-Sec and we pile my shit into a skycar.

"You friends seem nice." Art says, trying to make small talk.

"Thanks, they were always there for me." I nod. "Especially Aila, she took me in and gave me a place to stay."

"Huh, sounds nice. You have an… interesting friendship with Lorin." Art says, slowing to find an appropriate word.

"Yeah." I chuckle. "Friends are always there to pick you up when you fall, best friends will make fun of you for falling. I guess that's what Lorin and I have, it's all just merciless ribbing and taunting but I know he'd have my back because I would have his."

"Who was your salarian friend? I don't think he said anything the whole time we were there."

"That's just Saylem, he's the opposite of Lorin but I know he'd have my back just as quick as Lorin would." I tell him. "Besides, he owes me. I had to stand up to that krogan bastard for him, I can't remember his name though but it was the one with Shepard." I say, playing dumb.

"I think it was Urnog. Something like that," Art says, playing dumb just like I am. Good to know we're on the same page, even though he doesn't know I'm reading it over his shoulder.

"Sounds right." I smirk.

The skycar comes to a rest outside of C-Sec and once we head inside we get into the elevator, cracking jokes about how slow it is. Then we walk outside and see a sight we both thought we would never see in the flesh. Gleaming like nothing else could and inspiring courage into us like no speech could.

The SSV Normandy.

**R/R**

**general-joseph-dickson: Far from no name people, those guys are some of the biggest names in Mass Effect self inserts. Check em out.**

**Michae1ange1o: That it is, but they won't always all be together, their conversations will be spread out like any other characters.**

**OBSERVER01: He has no idea how hard it will hit, not by a longshot.**

**V-rcingetorix: I had this idea from the beginning, before I even wrote the first word of Mass Anomalies. I think I can make it work, if I can't and it proves too much I suppose I can always kill some off! ;) Yeah, Mavs far from perfect, but aren't we all? I think it's more a rarity then unrealistic, like you said, nobody would know weapons like a krogan! You can't always play things safe, it's just too damn boring for me, I'm always a bit of a thrill seeker! Thanks, it's staying down for now!**

**Kaiya Smith: TIM is a hard headed bastard, even without the indoctrination.**

**Spiritstrike: What the fuck indeed! The other two were mentioned in the A/N, definitely check them out. I loved Left 4 Dead, one of my favorite co-op games of all time! Haha, I thought it was good, I've seen way worse fics then that, trust me!**

**XRaiderV1: Haha, thank you sir!**

**CrimsonKnight117: Thanks man, I take pride in a nice action scene, I think theyre just as important as the others. Possibly, though if she did her ship has sailed, Mavs on the Normandy now! Yeah, it's hard to change TIMs mind. Thanks man, I'm excited about all of the OC's, it makes things more open. **

**masterdude94: Glad you didn't see it coming, I tried to keep it under wraps. Here's some more for yah!**

**In caverns dark: Don't worry, I'll figure it out. I already have a few ideas. Yeah not a lot of them do, but neither did Tali or Liara. Yeah none of them stopped Shepard from dying but I don't see why you would, it would screw up the timeline beyond repair, and knowing the timeline is an SI's only weapon. I hope I can make it work too, I don't see why I couldn't.**

**toprichie97: Thanks, I loved Welcome to the Family (sad it was never finished) so I thought I would try to expand on a good idea! Haha, thank you my friend!**

**ForgottenPrince: Thanks, glad you're liking it!**

**Lfan8: Thank you. I thought "justice" was funny but then again I am surprisingly immature. Mav didn't crush any bones because he lowered his mass (though I didn't say it) if he didn't he would probably break a few of his own bones! I think I'll have Mav keep his secret for a while, and I think his friends haven't questioned him is because he hasn't given them a reason to doubt him. Yup! Mav knows everybody's story and everything about them, so that adds a bit of depth and opportunities for some pranks!**

**Yurei Hanatsuki: Glad you like it. I love the demolisher, if you build her right you can have nine grenades! Boom indeed! Oh man, once you get the krogan vanguard, build him for melee and recharge, and you're unstoppable!**

**DelVarO: Woo! Yeah, I'm pumped! Thanks man, I love writing fight scenes! Sorry I never messaged you about the chapter, but most of your lines were taken from your story (hope you don't mind) so no new lines were needed. Next chapter though, definitely count on it!**

**Niras91: So generous, thank you! Glad you thought it was funny, I was chuckling when I was writing it! Sorry about the sunburn, I know that hurts. I've read stories that are just banter and silliness, it's fun at first but gets boring because there is no depth, I don't want that to happen to my story. Don't worry about the pressure, it's all good! And I did drink one for ya, it was pretty good! Of course you can use the "charge" bit, I don't mind at all!**

** .77: I think it will be interesting, I'm hoping you think it will be too. Thanks, I will try!**

**Guest1: I for sure said it out loud! Thanks, I love my twists!**

**Guest2: You definitely missed out, go check out those fics my friend. they have my seal of approval!**

**new reader: Definitely read them, without those I wouldn't have written this story!**

**Kalikedeshi Terminal Velocity: In my mind it's rated T, but it'll probably hit M by the time it's done. The only thing that makes things M (in my mind) is graphic sex, nudity, and constant cases of gore. Playful innuendo and swearing is T for me, but we are all different eh? I thought it would be cool to have all of the SI's together, SI-inception if you will. Yeah, that damn "life" always getting in the way, hopefully it will be the good life and not the bad!**

**A/N: If you're reading this then you are here for one reason and one reason only, to rock. The bands will be in **_**italics**_** and the song will be in bold, each band has the same "sound" but sometimes they branch out so if you have the time give them all a listen.**

**Rival Sons  
**_Pressure and Time  
Keep On Swinging_

**Glorious Sons**  
_Mama  
White Noise  
Ruby  
Baby_

**Head of the Herd**  
_We Could Get Together  
By This Time Tomorrow_

**HEADSTONES**  
_Tweeter and the Monkey Man  
When Something Stands for Nothing  
Smile and Wave  
longwaytoneverland  
Absoulutly  
farawayfromhere_

**The Trews**  
_Tired of Waiting _

**Sons of Revelry**  
_Born With a Bigga Goal_

**The Sheepdogs**  
_I Don't Know  
The Way It Is  
Feeling Good_

**Danko Jones**  
_Bounce_

**Monster Truck**  
_Righteous Smoke  
Seven Seas Blues  
Sweet Mountain River  
Old Train  
The Lion_

**Black Collar Union**  
_As I Lay Me Down_

**Sam Roberts Band**  
_We're All In This Together_

**Tragically Hip**  
_Blow at High Dough  
New Orleans  
Twist My Arm_

**There you have it, every great Canadian rock song I can think of off the top of my head, I've left out more obvious ones because it's likely you've heard of them (Neil Young, Rush, Nickleback, Simple Plan, Sum 41, Billy Talent, Finger Eleven, and so on) and I just wanted to get out some of the less known ones. In fact, Sons of Revelry and Black Collar Union were just discovered a month ago! Enjoy!**


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